


As the moon keeps shining

by Dreamkeeper_of_Light



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
Genre: 2 whole swearwords, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Different perspectives, Eldritch, Eldritch Tsukino Usagi, Gen, More swearing has come sooner than I expected, My First Work in This Fandom, No Beta, This was a weird headcanon I had, but that shouldn't be suprising., maybe more in future chapters, that wouldn't go away
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:47:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 37,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25886044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamkeeper_of_Light/pseuds/Dreamkeeper_of_Light
Summary: There was something wrong with Usagi.
Relationships: None for now
Comments: 6
Kudos: 56





	1. Ami's perspective

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Please read this!!
> 
> This is my first work every in any fandom ever. This is just a headcanon that wouldn't let me go. Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes as English is not my first language and I don't know how to find a beta. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

_There was something wrong with Usagi._

Ami glanced over at her new friend and teammate as they walked from school to the arcade. Well, wrong wasn’t entirely correct. Usagi was still smiling, talking a mile away about a new level she couldn’t get past on the Sailor V arcade game. Wildly gesturing to make her point. There was nothing physically wrong with Usagi. No illness or injury, but…

_There!_

Out of the corner of her eye she saw it again. A flash. _Something, feathers? An appendage that SHOULDNOTBETHERE…_ Then it vanished again, leaving Ami with a headache and Usagi almost falling over.

“Are you alright Ami-chan?” Usagi asked after regaining her balance. “You became so pale suddenly.”

“I’m okay Usagi-san, I’m just a bit tired. I think the nights are finally catching up on me.” Ami replied, giving Usagi a small smile. Usagi’s gaze turned sympathetic and she nodded before going back on her rant, this time her voice a bit softer.

Ami wasn’t usually the one for lying. This time she knew it was for the better. Because how do you tell your new friend that they weren’t completely _right_. No, that is also not the right word. Ami just couldn’t get it right in her head.

She started noticing it just a few days after they met in her cram school. First it was just small things, like a weird feather here and there. Or Usagi being suddenly just a bit taller or shorter than before. Then it started to ramp up as the days went by. Suddenly she noticed things like Usagi reaching something she couldn’t have, her smile stretching just a bit too far with way too much _teeth_ , her catching something that wasn’t even thrown close to her. It was especially present when they were fighting Youma. While Sailor Moon tripped up once in a while, most of the time (especially when her sabon spray was in effect and seeing was difficult) she moved with a grace that was not _normal_ , landing hits just a bit too easily. Bending in a way that _should not be possible._

And the worst thing was that Usagi had no idea that she did those things. Ami tried to bring it up with Usagi but every time she started about it something would stop her. She didn’t know if it was just embarrassment or _something else_ , but it shut her up the minute those blue eyes looked at her.

Now almost a month has passed and Ami has gotten used to the strange things for the most part, except for those headaches that would pop up every time Usagi did that. Limbs _that shouldnotbethere_. A hand on her shoulder while Usagi’s hands were right by her side. Usagi’s voice behind her while she was standing right in front of her. Every time it happened Ami would get a headache that only stopped when she stopped looking at the smiling girl. So that is what she did. Looking ahead to the arcade that had become their homework spot.

“YAY! We’re here!” Usagi exclaimed, making preparations to bolt towards her favorite games. Only stopping when Ami sighed her name. “Homework first.”

“You are mean Ami-chan, when did you become so mean.” The now deflated girl whined.

“When it became apparent that you get better grades when I’m mean Usagi.” Ami teased back. The whining was the easiest to get used to with the Moon Senshi, since she never really meant it. Usagi liked to act childish and in the beginning Ami bought the act, but only for a little while. As it clicked just a few days in that Usagi only acted childish as an outlet or to tease the blue haired girl.

“That’s not true! when you explain the question I just understand it easier. It’s always so confusing when I try to read it in a book.” Usagi replied as they walked inside and to the table farthest away from the arcade machines, passing a few people and waving at Motoki who was cleaning something behind the bar.

It was a quiet afternoon at the arcade and most of the customers were playing games instead of sitting in the booths.

It had become a bit of a ritual every second weekday when Ami didn’t have cram school or other activities to help Usagi with her homework. The blonde always had trouble understanding her classes, she wasn’t dumb or anything, she was just someone who benefited from a bit extra explaining. Especially with the basics Ami noted. After taking the time to go over that Usagi’s grades increased by at least 15% at minimum.

Ami just guessed that Usagi was more of an auditory learner.

But before they could start with the math assignment a hand ( _white-and-diamond-talons-are-those-eyes-and-feathers?_ ) grabbed hers.

“Hey Ami-chan…” Ami looked up at Usagi who was frowning slightly. “If you want to take a night of from patrolling to catch up on some sleep I can do tonight alone. I know it is hard to be awake for so long.”

Ami just shook her head. “It’s alright, I can handle it. I’m a senshi and this is the routine we have to get used to.”

“But it’s not fair to you, I can catch up on sleep any time I want. You told me you have difficulty napping during the day.” Usagi’s gaze was concerned as she looked at Ami. “If you are getting headaches from being tired you should take a night off.”

“Don’t worry Usagi-san, I’ll learn to live with it. Besides…” Ami smiled at her friend ( _whose- eyes-had -deepened-and-blackened- ~~and-~~_ ~~ _were-those-things-stars_~~?). “With the both of us we are done twice as quick and you get to sleep for a ‘glorious 2 extra hours’ as you said. I wouldn’t deprive you of that.”

Ami grabbed her books and absentmindedly added. “Which can then be spent actually paying attention in class instead of catching up on sleep.”

“AHH you meany!”

Ami just laughed at the antics of her sweet friend. That was just the thing about Usagi. Even with her weird smile and strange height fluctuations and extra _things_ that nobody else seemed to notice. She was at her core a loving person that cared deeply and always put a smile on her face. She was Ami’s first friend and Ami would do anything to protect her. No matter how _Other_ she got.

‘Yes _Other,_ ’ Ami hummed to herself. ‘That was a good name for it.’


	2. Rei's perspective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess this bunny didn't let me go. So here is another chapter! 
> 
> Again, I am not an experienced writer and I don't know how to find a beta! So apologies for any grammar or spelling mistakes.
> 
> Please Comment and Enjoy!

Rei noticed _it_ the moment Usagi first stepped foot in her shrine. It wasn’t really hard to miss after all. Shining so bright that she wasn’t even visible as a shape, and what she could see through the light had her questioning if what was standing there was human in any way. So she did the first thing that came to her mind at that moment, and threw an Ofuda at it.

Which was maybe a bit of an overreaction.

In her defense, she was on edge at the time with all the people disappearing and her being blamed for it. _And_ Phobos and Deimos also attacked the girl. So she gave herself some leeway in that regard.

She realized her mistake quickly as the light disappeared and a girl replaced it, falling backward with the Ofuda right on her face. Just an ordinary girl in a school uniform. The only weird thing was her hair that almost touched her calves even in that odango hairdo. An other girl with blue hair running to her in panic.

She apologized profusely to the shaken girl who later introduced herself as Tsukino Usagi, but the girl just laughed her apologies away. Seemingly not bothered at al. Even petting her ravens when they came closer in confusion.

That moment kicked off the days that would completely shake up Rei’s simple life and turn it upside down. She did find out what was causing all those disappearances after getting caught in one herself. Only escaping with the help of Usagi and her friend Ami (And some weirdo in a tuxedo). Who turned out to be those new Sailor Senshi that had appeared. Not to mention that she turned out to be one too, Sailor Mars to be exact. So now they were a team that fought crime together.

So now she had friends for a change.

She still wasn’t really that good at having friends. Her temper getting the best of her often and snide remarks leaving her mouth unwillingly. Mostly at Usagi who seemed to take the ‘dumb blonde’ stereotype to the extreme. She sometimes just couldn’t understand how such a carefree girl could be the leader of their group. Though she got glares from Ami every time she said such a thing out loud.

Usagi just didn’t care. She may whine about her being mean for a second but was all smiles the next moment.

And then there was the glowing. Just like the first time Rei saw Usagi, there were moments that the girl would just glow and nobody seemed to notice it. She seemed taller, then shorter, then her normal height again. In those moments Rei just couldn’t look at her without getting a migraine.

It was worse while they were fighting youma. Sailor Moon just wasn’t as good as Mercury and her, that is what she told herself at least. Otherwise she would have to look closer at the way she moved and dodged and _bended._ It was just poor form and _nothing else._

So she harped on Usagi about that too and Usagi just smiled at her and shrugged, saying that she always was a bit clumsy and even being a superhero didn’t change that.

In the time she had for herself she sometimes tried to consult the Sacred Flame for answers. Answers about Usagi she doesn’t dare to ask in person. Only the sacred flame refuses to focus on the blonde, at most she sees the Odango’s ( _did-they-move-on-their-own?_ ), a back ( _why-are-those-wings-no-metal-nononono_ ), her smile( _to-many-teeth-stretching-out_ ). But the flame almost shies away from the glow, the full picture.

Until one night where the moon was full and sky clear. The flame showed Usagi in her room, turning around and…

That was the last thing she remembered until she woke in the morning before a small flame barely flickering with blood dripping from her eyes and a migraine so bad she had her grandpa call in sick for her.

Later that day in the evening the reason for her migraine showed up together with Ami and Luna. Carrying container of hot soup and her homework.

“We waited for you at your school but you didn’t show up.” Usagi explained, looking worried at her. “So we asked around…”

“Meaning you barged in and asked the first adult you saw where Hino Rei was.” Luna interrupted with a shake of her head.

“and learned you were sick.” Usagi finished, glaring at the cat. “AND it worked didn’t it?” Waving the homework at Luna with an air of victory.

“It was maybe not the most diplomatic approach but it worked.” Ami agreed with a smile. “And don’t deny it Luna, you were worried too, especially with Jadeite still on the loose.”

“But anyway, I made soup!” Usagi cheered, “And it even looks good this time!”

Rei was really touched by the gesture, even when she demanded they keep their voices down. Nobody ever made her soup when she wasn’t feeling well and they certainly didn’t keep her company for the rest of the evening. Helping her with homework and reassuring her that they could handle 1 night patrolling without her. When they left Rei felt a warm glow in her chest, she really liked spending time with Usagi and Ami.

\--

In her dreams that night and all the nights following it for a good few weeks she kept getting glimpses of the things she saw in the fire. She knew she looked too deep to fast. What she saw then she couldn’t comprehend, it just hurt her.

During the days following she also began to notice more and more things about Usagi that she couldn't see before, and she got curiouser and curiouser. Until one afternoon when they were working on homework and making plans for a new patrol schedule, Usagi with her head down intensely focusing on the papers, that Rei just couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Usagi, what is up with those…” was as far as she got when she felt a hand clamp over her mouth and Ami’s voice continued. “…New earrings, they look so nice!”

Usagi looked up confused from the schedule she was tweaking, but before she could answer Ami had stood up with Rei in her grip. “Do you want some tea, I really want some tea. Rei will show me where the tea leaves are.” And dragged Rei with a surprisingly strong tug into the hallway. Rei could just make out Usagi shrugging and going back to work before the door closed.

“Ami-chan what the hell!” But Ami didn’t listen, she just dragged her to the kitchen.

When they arrived Ami turned to the now steaming priestess. “I could say the same to you. What were you thinking! Almost mentioning _It._ ”

Rei’s anger turned into confusion. “It?” then confusion turned into realization. “You see the glow too.”

“Glow? Well Usagi does glow sometimes..” Ami said, then shaking her head. “But that’s not important now, you can’t just talk to Usagi about her Otherness like that.”

“And why not? It’s been bothering me from the moment I met her. I think I’m entitled to an explanation.” Rei shot back, crossing her arms and leaning against the table.

“Because she doesn’t _know._ ” Ami replied. “Look, I have been with Usagi months before you showed up and in all that time she has never given me any indication that she knows what is going on with her.”

Ami sighed, rubbing her temples. “I met her parents and there is nothing weird with them, I asked Usagi about her childhood and everything she tells me points to her having an ordinary one. I even scanned her with my super computer! Nothing.”

“Still, why can’t we just ask her?” Rei gently responded, she got the feeling this was something that really bothered the water senshi.

“And say what? ‘Say Usagi-chan, do you know that you grow extra limbs sometimes and that your voice doesn’t come from your mouth!’ Or ‘Hey Usagi tell me why I get a headache every time I look at you for a bit too long!’ that would go over well.” Ami acidly retorted, before wincing and apologizing. “In any case, I did try a few times, but...”

Ami trailed off and looked away. Rei could see the desperation in her eyes so she softly prodded the blue haired girl. “But?”

“But every time I try I just can’t!” It burst out of her. “I look into her eyes and the words can’t leave my throat.” Ami looks on the edge of tears. “I want to ask Luna but I’m scared. This scares me more than the youma we face weekly.”

In a few steps Rei takes Ami into her arms and hugs her. “She is my best friend Rei, I love her so much and I could deal with it at first. I want to protect her but I don’t know how I can. I’m scared that if I dig any deeper there will be things I wouldn’t be able to handle.”

Rei winces. “That is indeed a possibility.”

The movement causes Ami to look up. Her eyes widening in realization. “You tried to look, didn’t you; With the flames.”

Rei backed away a bit, letting Ami go. “It doesn’t even matter. I can’t remember a thing of what I’ve seen.”

“Maybe that is for the best.” Ami sighed. “I just _know_ that asking Usagi-chan is a bad idea.”

“Then we ask Luna, together.” Rei stated. “She should know something.”

Ami nodded in agreement, seemingly reassured that she wouldn’t have to do this on her own anymore. They would ask Luna later. Now though, tea and planning was the best course to take. They prepared the tea together but before they stepped out of the kitchen Ami stopped her.

“Can you promise me one thing Rei?” She asked “Promise me that I can count on you to keep her protected together with me.”

Ami looked serious, and Rei stared in surprise at the severity in her tone. Keep Usagi safe? Why did that ring such a familiar bell in her mind. These words struck something deep within her. This was important, but why? Suddenly she saw a flash of something: _Shining halls, a pure white dress, her sitting beside some ~~thing~~ one._

“I promise.” It was out of her mouth before she knew it, but it was the truth. Odango was never the friend she imagine she’d have. Not in a long shot. But something did resonate and she really liked the clumsy and naïve girl. And protecting her seemed like the least she could do.

As they entered the study from the hallway Usagi’s voice cried out. “There you are, I was wondering if you couldn’t find the tea. Anyway, I finished the patrol schedule to include the business district since Jadeite seems to be moving to there and….” She chattered on about patrolling and fighting. Rei rolled her eyes but smiled. She may have underestimated Odango’s capabilities as a leader. She could be serious if the situation demanded her to be. Rei’s eyes drifted from Usagi’s face and to the earrings. Small gem inlaid flowers, cute and lively. Like the owner.

Ami was right. Looking at Usagi, Rei couldn’t imagine asking that question right to her face. Maybe it was for the better that they went to Luna first. Answers would be nice to have, but not at the cost of loosing Usagi. That was a cost too high.


	3. Questions and Answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like actual plot is also rearing its head! This chapter was hard to write, but I think it came out okay.
> 
> I'm loosely following canon, but like my characterization I'm picking and choosing the things I enjoy from it and focusing more on that. I can tell you however that Usagi and Mamoru won't be a couple, but they probably will have a solid friendship. I'm no Mamoru hater. I'm surprised there so many people that don't like him. 
> 
> Anyway, usual disclaimer: English is not my first language, no beta, I'm kinda getting used to writing. Please don't sue me. 
> 
> Like, Comment and Enjoy!

They had planned to ask Luna as soon as possible, but after that evening at the shrine Jadeites attacks seemed to ramp up. There were at least 2 minor attacks every night by smaller youma and a major attack every two days. It was impossible to get more than a few hours of rest between fighting, school and any other activities. Luna also seemed to stick by Usagi’s side as much as possible.

After a brutal attack that left a whole cruise ship full of people injured and weak, and the three of them severely exhausted. They took a breather a few ships away from the ship they battled on, hiding from the police and paramedics.

Rei sat down on a stone pillar, with her head between her legs to fight the dizziness and nausea that came with an adrenaline drop. “Is it me or is Jadeite getting more and more vicious every time we meet him?”

She saw light blue shoes sitting down next to her. “It isn’t just you Mars, this attack was just cruel.” Ami answered with her hand on her stomach, trying to even out her breathing.

“Not cruel, desperate.”

Both of them looked up at Usagi. She was looking towards where paramedics and police were escorting the guests off the ship. The usually upbeat girl was frowning. Her arms crossed( _ ~~While-her-hand-plucked-at-her-odango)~~_. “His plans are getting sloppy, and from what I heard while I was snooping…”

She turned to Luna, who only rounded the corner a second later. “Luna, do you know who ‘Queen Beryl’ is?”

The cat seemed to freeze in place. Horror emanating from her limited facial expressions.

“I guess that you do.” The Moon senshi sighed. “It appears that Jadeite has fallen out of favor with this Queen Beryl. After losing so much his chances are running out it seems. How big off a problem is this going to be?”

“I don’t remember much.” Luna took a breath. “But what I do remember is that Queen Beryl was the leader of the Dark Kingdom. If she is the one behind all the attacks and not just Jadeite with a bunch of youma, it’s going to be a very big problem.”

“Well, that’s just great.” Rei groaned, “How in the world are we going to handle that? We’ve been barely keeping up with Jadeite.”

“That is why we have to find the princess, with her near we will get our memories and skills back from the silver millennium.” Luna answered.

The feline looked convinced of that, but Usagi shook her head. “Hoping for a princess to save us from this situation is not a good plan Luna.” She bent down and petted Luna’s head. “I know you have a lot of faith in her, and I’m sure she’s a wonderful person but the truth is: She isn’t here right now to help us. She is hidden, probably without her memories and we can’t seem to find her now with the tools at our disposal.”

“Moon is right Luna;” Ami added. “We have to do this on our own right now. We will find her, we are doing our best but the moon princess isn’t our main priority at the moment. We have far more imminent things to worry about.”

“And to be honest.” Rei lifted her head, the dizziness finally receding. “Aren’t we her personal guard, like, the people that protect her from these kinds of things. If we can’t deal with this right now, what kind of guard will we be in the future. Mediocrity is not good enough for a _Royal_ guard.”

Luna hung her head, and Rei got the feeling this was a bitter pill to swallow for her. “I’m sorry girls, you are right. You are her guard, but…” She looked that the three of them, seeming weary. “You are also so much younger than you were in the silver millennium. You shouldn’t have to deal with this.”

“But we have to, who else is going to fix this.” Ami responded with a small smile. “I have resigned myself to that fact the first time I killed a youma.”

Usagi nodded and Rei did also. Though Rei knew Usagi had complained and whined more than she could count about that subject, she would never not fight to protect civilians. Because not fighting meant people would die, and that was not something the three of them could ever live with.

“I am so proud of you all. You have grown so much in these last few months.” Luna looked at them with a smile. “The question is now how we are going to proceed from here.”

“We are going to need intel.” Both Rei and Ami looked at Usagi, who had sat down on another stone pillar, she looked weary( _ ~~Melting-into-stone-completely-surrounding-it-glow-flickering~~_ ). “We can’t just keep solving the aftermath of attacks, reacting to them while they happen.”

Ami looked away and nodded in agreement. “We need to get ahead of them, we know nothing about them other than that they are an organization that toppled the silver millennium thousands of years ago and need some kind of human energy for something.”

“That gives us a lot of questions.” Rei added, rubbing her head. “But I think the most important two are: How large is their organization and what do they need that energy for?”

“I think I have a way of finding out the first question.” Luna said with a pensive expression. “It may not pan out though.”

“We’ll find a way to get the other info later. It’s almost 8, I have to get home before my curfew.” Usagi said with a repentant grin. “Shall we meet up tomorrow after school?”

“Let’s do that.” Ami nodded and Rei echoed the statement.

“Then I’ll see you both tonight for patrol.”

They said their goodbyes and Usagi held her arms out for Luna to hitch a ride, but Luna shook her head.

“I will gather some info for tomorrow, I will be at the house later.”

Usagi smiled and jumped away, disappearing behind some containers. Luna also made to leave but Rei saw her chance. “Luna wait!” The cat turned around, looking curiously at the two of them. “We need to ask you something, about Moon. Can you stay for a minute?”

“Mars, maybe it’s easier if we go to the temple.” Ami interjected. “It will at least be more comfortable than in a harbor.”

Rei conceded to that point and after taking Luna in her arms, they began their journey to the temple.

-.-.-.-

This was going to be a good conversation; Ami kept telling herself. She had to keep telling herself that. Otherwise her nerves would convince her to run for the hills. She didn’t even get why she was so on edge. She shouldn’t be. It was going to be fine. She wanted answers as much as Rei, but maybe those answers were the thing that scared her.

They entered the temple. It was dark and it seemed like Rei’s grandfather had already gone to bed. It looked so ominous. They de-transformed and took a seat in the study. A few pieces of their homework still scattered on the table. Ami had to remember to take those with her.

“What is it that you wanted to ask, you both seemed so tense on the way here.” Luna gave a few licks to her frazzled coat, trying to get it in order again.

“I’m sorry Luna.” Rei said sheepishly. “It’s just… I mean, we were….”

“You have been with Usagi from the beginning right?” Ami blurted out, she just couldn’t help it.

Luna looked at her surprised. “Well yes. Not her whole life of course but she was the first senshi I discovered. Why the question?”

“Well, have you ever noticed something…” Rei tried to find the right word. “Not _right_ with her.”

Luna eyes switched from Rei to Ami and back to Rei. Ami couldn’t figure out the look she was giving them. “Not right as in..?”

“As in something extra… limbs, eyes, _things that should not be there._ ” Ami shuddered a bit.

“Oh… _oh,_ that.” Was all the answer they got from the black cat before she fell silent.

“That?! What kind of answer is that! We have been experiencing Usagi’s Otherness for as long as we know her. We have had countless headaches from it and your only answer you give is ‘ **That’**!” Rei shrieked. Ami worriedly looked at the door, hoping that Rei’s grandfather hadn’t woken up from it.

“Rei, calm down. I just need to gather my thoughts. This doesn’t have an easy answer.” The cat became silent again, and the atmosphere became more tense every second the silence stretched on. Ami fidgeted with one of the papers and almost spoke up when Luna finally answered.

“I too have noticed those things in Usagi and my current theory is that she was a Lunarian, a moon person, in the silver millennium.” Luna sighed and looked outside, the moon illuminating her. “I don’t know much about this subject. In part because of my memories being gone, but mostly because Lunarians didn’t really talk about it. What I do remember is that while most of this galaxy have near similar physical attributes as humans, Lunarians were a bit… different in that regard. They never really showed it and could easily twist themselves into a… lets just say, human shape; but they were something _other_ like you said. That was the reason why such a peaceful race had control over this solar system, instead of the more war-oriented planets like Mars or Uranus.”

“What did they look like then?” Ami asked, she was kind of baffled about it all. “I’ve seen many glimpses of Usagi’s _otherness_ and I can’t seem to put it together into a full picture.”

“And when I tried to get the full picture…” Rei added; “It didn’t really end well.”

Luna nodded as if she understood, but her answer contradicted that. “I don’t know what Lunarians look like normally, I think very few people did. I do remember a conversation I had with the Queen about their appearance. She said that while the shape and size differed from person to person, showing it to anyone not Lunarian could have major consequences. Though she never did specify what those consequences where.”

“I can guess those consequences.” Rei muttered, before turning thoughtful. “You said Lunarians kept their appearance hidden, but Usagi is showing it to us quite frequently. Even if she doesn’t know she is doing it.”

“That is the thing probably, she doesn’t know. How can you stop something you don’t know you have.” Ami hypothesized, looking at Rei. “I’ve always been anxious to tell her about it, but maybe it will be for the best to do so, just so she can focus on stopping it.” Rei nodded in agreement.

“No.” The curt statement made them turn back to Luna. The cat also looked deep in thought. “At least, not yet.”

“Why not now?” Rei asked rather crossly. But Ami’s mind was already putting the pieces together, and came to the conclusion the same time Luna spoke again.

“Because she is still human now.”

At Rei’s surprised “What?” Ami jumped in. “Think about it Rei. Her soul, her past shape, is something we can’t comprehend, but all my tests in the past have proven she is human. She may be subconsciously using it but what would happen when she consciously started to notice the otherness. Her _human_ mind wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

“Noticing those things once in a while gives us headaches, but to see those things 24/7…” Rei’s eyes were wide in realization. “It would drive her mad. We _have_ to keep it from her.”

“For now at least.”

Ami nodded in understanding but Rei looked confused at Luna’s statement, eyes darting between the both of them. Trying to make sense of it. The cat chuckled and Ami decided to take pity. “Rei, I haven’t had to recolor my hair for months.” She gestured at her blue locks. “Not since I became Sailor Mercury.”

“We’re changing back to our alien bodies, aren’t we.”

Luna nodded, smiling proudly at Ami for figuring it out. Though the smile was short lived when horror started to bloom on Rei’s face. Her skin paling dramatically.

“That means that Usagi’s body is changing to, it will only be a matter of time before she starts to notice something is off.”

“That’s why we have to find the princess as soon as possible. When Usagi has her memories from her life as a Lunarian she can cope with the change back in ways she can’t as a human.” Luna stated seriously. “Plus, she will have the princess as a companion to deal with it, but until then we have to keep it a secret.”

“We have to keep it a secret, to keep her safe.” Rei spoke, her words echoing in Ami’s ear _. Truth_ they whispered. “Even if the thing we are keeping her safe from is herself.”

“Until we have found the princess that is the only thing we can do.”

The conversation tapered off after that statement. Each lost in their own thoughts. Ami took that moment to pack her stuff and head home, saying goodbye to Rei and Luna.

When she stepped outside the moon was shining bright. The sky was clear and a small breeze made her shiver. This whole evening had been revelatory to say the least. She got her answers, she got more questions. It made sense and didn’t at the same time.

It was a confusing mess she got tangled up in. Ami thought when she walked home to get some sleep before her patrol. But a mess she wouldn’t trade for the world.


	4. Pondering and planning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a Long Chapter! Well, for me at least. The story is getting some traction and I hope you like where it is going.
> 
> Anyway: Like, comment and ENJOY!

The wind was howling when Luna arrived at Crown arcade. There was a storm approaching and Luna took a moment to have sympathy for her girls, who would have to make their rounds in that weather. The arcade was still lit up and Luna could see Motoki cleaning the bar through the foggy window. It was almost 12 and it would only take a few more minutes before Motoki would head out and the arcade would be empty. That boy was a creature of habit.

Luna jumped on a wall and sat down. Content to take a few moments for herself. What a day this has been. She sighed to herself. She knew that the Dark kingdom was bigger than just Jadeite and a couple of youma. She had hoped it was just the Shitennou who had been woken up, that way they would have a chance at saving those boys. However, with Beryl in the mix that chance was close to zero without the princess.

Luna sighed, her tail swishing in agitation. She hated that she lost so much of her memories. She couldn’t remember the face of most of her past companions, she couldn’t remember places she know she’d been, even the final battle and the days leading up to it were gone. She _knew_ she has so much knowledge, but it was all locked away.

And for what? To see Mercury and Mars, Ami and Rei, struggle with a secret that could kill their first friend. Having headaches daily because of it and not being able to help. To see Usagi resign herself to the fact that her dreams do not matter anymore. Lashing out with things she doesn’t know she has and not being able to comfort her. To know that if they didn’t find the princess soon enough Usagi’s mind _will burn_ from trying to go back to her Lunarian form and not being able to fix it.

It is torture. To know but not to recognize. Because she _knows_. She helped with raising the princess from birth, but her face is gone. Her name is gone. Any identifiable feature is just gone.

She couldn’t do anything and that hurts her.

The jingle of the bell alerted her of Motoki’s exit. The boy locked the door and walked away, a small case of beer in one hand and talking to somebody on the phone with the other. When she jumped down she caught the tail end of the conversation “You’ve been stressed out about that for weeks Mamoru-kun. So I’m coming over with beer and we are going to have a fun evening, that is final.”

She shook her head, everyday people with their everyday problems. It was soothing to know the world hasn’t stopped yet.

With a jump she did so many times before she got herself up the roof and into the ventilation. She may feel helpless but that doesn’t mean she couldn’t help. Even if it was a little bit. She dropped into the empty arcade and made her way to the Sailor V game. Pressing the assorted buttons to access the only small piece of moon technology she could find. The mission control computer.

It’s an old joke that Artemis and she came up with on the moon, after watching to many Galactic spy movies. Now it’s the only link she has to her old life. She sometimes wonders how it ended up here but rationalized that it was probably the same way she had ended up here. 

A beep brings her back to reality. It is awaiting her input. “Agent 0091 logging in, Code: the Rabbit on the Moon bakes Mochi cakes.” ‘The mochi is sticky.’ It types back at her. “It will puff up when grilled.” The computer blinked once in confirmation. When the loading bar started she thought of her companion. She missed having Artemis beside her. That crazy cat would always cheer her up, but he has been dead for a long time. It’s the only memory she had of those last days. Artemis getting struck by a soldier in their mad dash to the Queen.

“Mission control to agent 0091, confirmation please.” A staticky voice calls out.

“Agent 0091 here, how are you mission control?” She says it more out of habit than actual curiosity. Mission control is a very advanced AI, but it never really achieved actual sentience. So it didn’t have actual feelings other than what they programmed into it.

“Flying high as can be, and you Luna?” It answered back.

“Same as always MC.”

“It can’t be that bad?”

“It is.”

The machine whirred a bit, as if it was sighing. “What happened?”

Luna rubbed a paw to her head, but didn’t answer. “I need a analysis done on the planet. Scanning for youma activity and dark energy. Please give me an estimate of the amount of dark kingdom allegiants and cross reference it to the data 7 days prior to The Fall.” 

“What happened.” It stated again, this time more serious.

“My girls just got confirmation that Queen Beryl is the one leading the Dark kingdom again.”

The computer is silent, except for the small buzzing it always does when it is processing information. The screen darkening and then flashing.

“Ah.” It finally answered. “I’m so sorry Luna.”

“Don’t be, you can’t do anything about it anyway.”

The machine was again silent for a while. Data was being pulled from multiple satellites and research stations. The numbers flashing on screen and getting compiled into a spreadsheet.

“It is not the only thing that is worrying you, I can see that frown from a mile away.” The machine suddenly spoke again, startling Luna. It was unusual for the machine to make such a remark out of the blue. She must have been really frowning.

“It is indeed not the only thing worrying me. Mars and Mercury approached me today with questions about Moon. It confirms my suspicions that Moon is a rather powerful Lunarian, which is a good thing and a bad thing all at once.”

“How so?”

Luna looked at Mission control, it was still compiling data. She wondered if Artemis was the one who made it so inquisitive. “The good thing is that when she’s fully awake. She will be a strong leader and guard for the princess. But that won’t matter if we do not find the princess soon. Because if she starts to change before her memories return, she will die.”

“And it’s already starting, isn’t it?” Mission control’s display dimmed a bit. As if to indicate sadness.

“It is, we have been lucky that the changes have only been on a subconscious level but that won’t last forever.” Luna sighed, she was so tired. “MC, I don’t know for how long I can handle this. It feels like I have been dumped here with a mission without aid, backup and intel. I worry that everything I do will lead to the death of my girls but I can’t do better because I have no info to give them. I don’t know if I am good enough.”

“You are good enough.” Came the reply. “You have led these girls admirably and you just need to hold on, help will come. I am sure of it.”

Before Luna could retort the computer pinged and the information got displayed over the map. The data, while not good, also the worst it could have been.

“Looks like the population has decreased in the last 1000 years. My sensors only detect 3 youma spawning places. In the United Kingdom, here in Japan and one either on the north or south pole. With an average of 500 youma. You were right to suspect the return of all the Shitennou, as all four energy signatures are showing up. Though pinning a location on them is as impossible as ever. And because I was searching for it, Beryl’s presence is indeed there. Though it is well hidden. Again on either the north or south pole. It seems most of the youma are also clustered there.”

Luna took a good look at the map. “The production may be slow but they are churning out powerful youma’s. This doesn’t bode well MC.”

“That just means the girls will have to be more creative in fighting. You know they can handle the youma.”

“I know, I’m just worried what will happen when creativity won’t be good enough.”

The computer didn’t have an answer to that. Luna just shook her head and memorized the info. “Thank you for the help MC. Agent 0091 signing off.”

“Sign out received, See you soon Luna.”

The screen went dark and Luna made her way back out of the arcade. The storm had died down and the clock outside displayed 00:32. If she was quick she could catch Usagi before she left for patrol. She hastened her pace and made it just in time to see Usagi climbing out of the window and softly landing in the yard. The girl smiled when she saw Luna approaching.

“Hey Luna;” She whispered. “You’ve been out long, gathered enough information?” The cheeky girl winked at her and Luna let out a soft laugh. “It’s never enough Usagi.”

Usagi frowned at the slight moroseness of Luna’s voice. “This whole Beryl thing really has you worried, doesn’t it? I admit, it does sound kinda scary.”

“Beryl is a scary person, there is no denying that.”

“But I have faith that with you here guiding us, we will beat her.” The girl smiled, grabbing her brooch( _ ~~talons-scraping-the-gold~~_ ). “Now, I have to go, can’t have Mars and Mercury waiting for me again.”

She gave Luna a pet and ran of between the houses. Luna just making out a flash before Moon jumped up the roofs and making her way to the radio tower.

 _‘Oh Usagi,’_ Luna thinks, ‘ _Let’s hope that faith will be enough._ ’

.-.-.-.-.-.

She is way to early, Rei notes as she jumped her way up the radio tower. Their patrol didn’t start until 1 o’clock and it wasn’t even 12 yet.

But after all the information dumped on her today, she couldn’t stay idle. She had to clear her mind before being able to focus on her task. So she decided to go away from the place where that conversation happened and took a ‘walk’, meaning transforming and taking a lap around the city.

It wasn’t even the revelations about a bigger threat or the answers about Usagi’s _otherness_ that had her so worked up. No, those were things she wanted to know, needed to know. She may not have expected the kind of answers she got, but she had expected answers. The thing that had her so worked up was…

_“We’re changing back to our alien bodies, aren’t we?”_

That sentence, just said in a offhand way. As if it didn’t upend everything she had ever known _again_. Honestly, she should have seen this coming. What kind of 14 year old gets their hands on a magical transformation pen and can handle moonlighting as a vigilante. Not a human one, that’s for sure.

But still…

She had reached the top of the tower and looked at Tokyo glittering below her. Leaning over the railing she tried to see her shrine. Somewhere in the darkness between the glistering. When Ami and Luna left she had raced over to the bathroom. Turning on the lights and looking in the mirror. Trying to find any changes. Were her eyes more red? Did her skin change shades. _Was there anything different?_

She couldn’t find anything. Her hair was still black, her eyes still grey, her skin still pale. It didn’t make her feel any better though.

She took a deep breath. The change would probably come soon. She wonders how it would feel, maybe she should ask Ami. Since the change was so radical for her. Blue hair, who would have thought. It could be worse though. Just blue hair was loads better than changing into something the mind can’t comprehend. Poor Usagi.

No point worrying about it. Rei shook her head. She just had to keep Usagi save until that princess finally decides to grace them with her presence. Who needs a princess anyways, she was already remembering bits and pieces of her past life on her own. Mostly in dreams, but sometimes also when she was meditating. Just flashes:

_White halls, white hair, her three companions beside her, the Earth visible through a large window._

_Blond odango’s, a frown decorating a sparkling face obscured by shadows._

_A red planet, the sun so much smaller, a large city sprawling to the horizon, ‘I’m proud of you’_

_The Gardens, flowers everywhere and her own voice laughing: ‘focus on me, there you go, good job!’_

They didn’t make sense, but she was getting them. She had hoped that she would get something useful from them in regard to their current predicament. Only that didn’t happen. She got no glimpses of faces, no training or battles. She didn’t even get to see herself apart from her gloved hands every now and again.

It was frustrating, this whole mess was frustrating, changing was frustrating.

‘But change is a part of life my dear Rei, you can either go with it and rise, or hurt yourself resisting it.’ Was what Gramps always says. So there was nothing she could do except find it frustrating and just deal with it. Take it as it came and mold it into something she can use.

The wind changed direction and a glow was approaching the tower. Usagi was coming closer. Rei looked up in surprise, was is 1 already? She looked at the clock. Almost 1, she had been lost in thought for longer than she realized.

“Mercury will be joining us in a minute.” Usagi said while she clambered over the railing, taking a seat next to where Rei was leaning. “She got held up by her mother returning from a prolonged evening shift.”

“It’s not 1 yet, she has the time.” Rei responded with a small smile, Usagi grinned back. “That’s not what you said when I was almost late.”

“Well, you called us a minute before 1. That’s the difference.”

“But I made it.”

“That you did.” Rei nodded her head seriously. Usagi laughed, she looked carefree as she stared at the tower. Rei could almost ignore _~~the-giant-notwings-stretching-out~~. _

“Did you know that your eyes are more purplish when you are transformed?” Rei froze, ice crawling at her insides.

“What?”

Usagi was staring at her. A thoughtful expression on her face. “Your eyes, there just a bit purplish, It’s not much but it’s there.”

“Probably from all the blood vessels I pop every time you almost get hit by a youma.” She scoffed, hiding the fact that the comment hit very close.

“Meanie.” Usagi poked her with her boot. “I dodge perfectly well.”

“Tell that to my blood pressure.”

At that moment Ami jumped over the railing. Apologizing as soon as she landed. They waved it away and started pre-patrol discussion before going their separate ways. As Rei took off she touched the skin next to her eyes. 

Change was coming, she’d better rise with it.

.-.-.-.-.-.

Ami waited at the door of Usagi’s classroom. It was the end of the school day but Usagi got held up by her teacher. She couldn’t understand why the teacher had done that. Usagi’s grades were improving, and by her own account she’d could more easily stay awake during the day.

The door opened and Usagi stepped out, she was smiling. That’s good at least. “Thank you miss Haruna, I’ll see you Monday!” She grabbed Ami’s arm and dragged her away. “Come on Ami-chan, let’s get to Rei-chan’s place before she blows more blood vessels.”

“What happened in there Usagi-chan? It has been a while that you had to stay behind.” Ami asked curiously as Usagi dragged her out of the school.

“It was nothing, miss Haruna was worried that there was something wrong at home.” Usagi let go of Ami and showed her a bruise on her collarbone. It was where that youma pierced Usagi’s skin last night, the stab wound had healed but the bruise had spread. “I told her that I banged my shoulder on a railing when I fell again.”

“You, should be more careful Usagi.”

“I am! I just heal fast so it doesn’t really bother me.”

“Still…” Ami grabbed Usagi’s hand. “We don’t know how far that healing will go, so just be careful.”

Usagi smiled at her, her hand( _ ~~talons-gently-scraping-)~~_ squeezing her own hand. “Okay, I will.”

The rest of their trip to the temple was made with easy talk about school and teenage stuff. When they arrived at the shrine Rei was talking to her grandpa. After exchanging greetings she waved them inside. “I’ll be there in a second.”

Just a few seconds later the door opened and Rei walked in, still in her miko clothes, with Luna in tow. When they sat down Usagi took the initiative to start the meeting. “So, we have to find a way to make actual progress in defeating the dark kingdom. For that we need intel. ” Usagi turned to Luna. “Last night you said you had some?” The cat nodded and rolled out a map that had several markings on them.

“So I have got confirmation that Beryl is indeed active, but she seems to just stay in one place. Either the north or south pole. That is also where most of the youma seemed to have gathered. With an estimate of 467 staying there and only 45 active on other parts of the world. There are 3 spawning places active. But the rate of youma produced is incredibly low. That is both a good and a bad thing.”

“How so?” Rei interjected.

“Good because that means that you don’t have to worry about an influx of youma in the near future, but bad because the youma produced are going to get tougher.”

Rei nodded at Luna’s explanation. “Is it not possible to attack those spawning places, shut them down?”

The cat shook her head. “Youma spawning places are not inherently bad. They are a part of nature and when not corrupted they provide balance. And before you ask. We can’t purify them now, that would take an immense amount of positive energy that we don’t have access to.”

Luna turned back on the map. “Now for more disturbing news. It seems like all 4 of the dark kingdom generals have awoken, they call themselves the Shitennou. These generals in the past were known for their military cunning and were once the personal guard of Earths royal family before they defected and joined the Dark kingdom. You already met one of them.”

“Jadeite is one of them? Almost can’t believe it with how many times he failed.” Ami commented.

“Not necessarily” Luna commented; “He always got away with the energy, never a 100% but always something.”

“That is true, and his plans were never obvious before people started acting weird.” Usagi added.

“And I believe that they also don’t remember much from their previous life. As Jadeite didn’t remember you and the Moon and Earth royalty met up quite a lot in the last few years before the collapse. You would have known each other.”

That surprised the girls, Ami stopped with writing everything down. They knew the enemies they were facing? If they could remember they would have a large advantage over the dark kingdom. Only, to remember they had to find the princess, and they were trying to get ahead of the dark kingdom to make room to find the princess. So unless the princess dropped from the sky somewhere next week. That was not a viable solution to get ahead.

“So if these Shitennou are great military strategists, generals in the dark kingdom and present in the silver millennium. Wouldn’t it be a good idea to catch and interrogate them? To get intel that way?” Rei pondered softly.

The others looked at her. “That’s… actually a really good idea. If we can get Jadeite…” Usagi said slowly. “Though there are a few problems we would have to overcome.” She held up one finger. “Getting him alone,” the second finger went up. “Taking care that he doesn’t escape,” and the third. “And getting leverage against him.”

“Not letting him escape may be the biggest problem, since he can teleport.” Rei pointed out. 

“I think I can do something about that.” Ami got her Supercomputer out of her pocket. “I’ve been exploring what this computer can do in my free time, and it turns out its quite a lot.” She tapped the code for the new application that she discovered. “It’s a disruptor, it takes quite a lot of power but it can disrupt any portals made by a specific type of energy. It has to be calibrated to that type of energy though.”

“I can help with that.” Luna walked over. “I know the type of energy most dark kingdom allegiants use.” She tapped something in. “You would have to scan Jadeite to get the specific frequency, but this should make the scanning shorter.”

Ami nodded in thanks, a bit befuddled that Luna knew that frequency by heart.

“So that was one problem solved. Maybe Rei and I can look into blackmail material.” Usagi suggested. “Rei could try to see something in her fire, and I can use dad’s work PC to look up missing persons matching his description.”

“Missing persons?” Luna asked confused.

“Well, if they were like us. Then they had normal lives before this whole thing. So when they got woken up they probably left family behind. That could work as leverage. Appealing to their humanity, get him on our side.” Usagi looked really sincere. Ami had her doubts though. Jadeite didn’t seem like a person that really cared about family or human connections. He just seemed to really have an one track mind about serving the dark kingdom. She voiced that concern.

“Maybe, but it’s worth a shot right?” Usagi looked at her with a shrug.

“Yeah, it’s worth a shot.” Ami could not say no to that face.

“Getting him alone should not be a problem. When Usagi takes care of the youma we’d just activate the disruptor and get him on his back, right?” Rei smirked. “That worked well last time he got too close to me.”

Ami and Usagi laughed. That happened a few weeks ago if Ami recalled it correctly. Jadeite tried to use Rei as leverage but Rei just broke free and got him on the ground in less than a second. The look on his face was the cause of many spontaneous giggling fits that made her mother look weird at her.

“He may not get close to you again Rei-chan.” Usagi laughed.

“I’ll just close that gap myself then.” Rei looked confident as she leaned back and crossed her arms. Though Ami hoped it was enough.

“So that is the plan then? Catch Jadeite and interrogate him for intel?” Ami confirmed.

“Yes, and try to get him back on the good side if we can, but that is a stretch goal.” Usagi said, looking a bit uncertain.

“We’ll be doing our best Odango. Don’t worry about it.” Rei patted Usagi’s head. Which then turned into a full on insult war between them. Ami smiled at the stress relieve and opened her homework book. It may not be peak military strategy, but Ami was sure they stood a chance. And that is more than they could have hoped for with the odds pretty much stacked against them.

The rest of the evening went quietly. They did homework, fooled around a bit and discussed fighting techniques they picked up from movies and games. It was pretty relaxed. Only when they went outside to head home the peace was shattered.

A giant Jadeite was visible in a unnaturally red sky challenging them to a battle at the airport. “Sunday, at 1 o’clock. And if you don’t show up…” He spread his arms and the whole city burst into flames. “This will be a reality.” With an evil laugh he disappeared, taking the burning with him.

All four of them looked at the now empty sky in astonishment.

“That… is definitely a trap.” Rei deadpanned.

“100% trap.” Usagi agreed. “It would have been less obvious if he planted a huge blinking sign spelling TRAP. With that sign waving red flags also.”

“Well girls, what are you going to do about that.” Luna looked up at them, seemingly already resigned to the answer.

“The only thing we can do.” Ami smiled at the cat. “Spring it.”


	5. Kidnappings and Battles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An actual battle! This chapter was fun to write.
> 
> There are some more head-canons of mine in here that I hope to tie to future plot. 
> 
> Anyway: English is my second language, don't have a beta, please don't flame.
> 
> Like, comment and enjoy!!

The Saturday following Jadeites announcement the three of them spend separate. They kept in contact via the communicators, swapping info and keeping each other up to date. Usagi had managed to get on her dad’s computer and using his connections as a newspaper photographer and editor to find missing person reports. Rei spend her day with the sacred flame trying to get insight on Jadeite and any problems they might face in the fight. Ami was dividing her time between tweaking and testing the disruptor with Luna and keeping her eyes on the news.

The news was a mixed bag considering the attack. Most people didn’t take the threat to seriously, believing it to be a prank. Others, mostly youma-attack survivors, took it very seriously and were preparing for the worst. The airfield got shutdown and 24 hour surveillance was put in place by the police, who were treating this as a major terrorist threat.

“That is not going to stop Jadeite. Honestly, did they even do a bit of research.” Ami muttered, glancing at the display of the communicator where Usagi and Rei were visible. Usagi typing away and Rei taking a break from meditating.

“Well they don’t have the kind of experience we do Ami.” Usagi replied, her feed glitching a bit as she glanced at them.

“But it’s going to mean trouble for us.” Rei retorted. “They have posted guards in every hallway and the halls have cameras everywhere from what I could see. It’s not going to be easy getting in.”

“We’ll go by water if we have to, we can’t let this opportunity pass.” Usagi sat back a bit and rubbed her head. “Not the most efficient way though.”

“Let me look for a better way, I’m sure there is a blind spot somewhere.” Rei stood up and shut the communicator down. Going back to the Sacred flame. Usagi and Ami both turned back to their respective tasks, working at it in silence.

The silence lasted a good 10 minutes before Usagi suddenly shifted, her body leaning towards the computer and a look of interest overtaking her features. “I think I found him… oh……” She seemed to read something else. “ _Oooh man._ ”

Ami turned towards the blonde, stopping her tweaking and Luna also sat up in interest. “What?”

“Okay, take a look at this.” She turned the communicator to the computer screen that displayed a picture of a much friendlier looking Jadeite, smiling together with another person. “This is Jay Tenoh, Japanese American college student in California. He went missing a month before the Dark kingdom attacks started happening. It was in the news a lot, apparently his famous cousin is leading the search efforts.” Usagi shook her head. “But that is not important. His case is linked to 3 others in what the internet is calling the broken crystal kidnappings.”

She scrolled down a bit to a picture displaying a room completely torn apart. A couch turned over, lamps on the ground and stuff flung everywhere. “All four kidnappings had the same characteristics. All 4 houses where locked up good with no discernible way for the kidnapper to get in or out. All the rooms, other than the one the person was in at the time, were untouched. The room they were in on the other hand looked like that.” She pointed at the picture. “But the most obvious clue that linked 4 cases together was this.” She scrolled down again to a closeup of the floor, a broken crystal laid there in several pieces. “In all the cases they found broken crystal on the floor. Take a guess what kind of crystal was found at Jay’s place.”

“I’m guessing a jadeite.” Ami sighed. “So who were the other guys that were taken?”

“A Japanese Botany researcher named Masato Sanjouin, they found a nephrite there. A German history professor named Izono Meyer, that crystal was a zoisite. And a kunzite was found in the home of Shin Sanada, apparently quite a wealthy businessman who was in Mongolia at the time.”

“All those crystals bear the same names as the Shitennou, so that confirms it.” Luna looked at the photo with a kind of sadness.

“At least we have some idea what the others look like, that should make it easier identifying their plans.” Ami shrugged turning back to her supercomputer. “There is no other info that can give us something?”

“No, only an interview with Haruka Tenoh about the disappearance. It seems like they were pretty close. Other than that, nothing.” Usagi shook her head, clearly frustrated. “How is the disruptor going?”

“Fully charged it will disrupt an area of 60 feet for 15 minutes. Enough time to knock him out I hope.” Ami replied. “But I think with a powerbank attached it can lengthen that time to 20 minutes. But that would make the computer kinda bulky.”

“Keep it as a last resort then.”

Ami nodded and went back to testing it, making sure it wouldn’t fail in combat.

The rest of the day went by like that. When Rei came back on the communicator they filled her in on what they had found and she gave them the best possible route they could take to avoid most police interference. They tried to find something more on Jay Tenoh but there was not much else. They decided to meet at 12 in the afternoon under the guise of going to have a fun day/slumber party at Rei’s. Apparently Rei’s grandpa could sleep through anything, so they wouldn’t have to worry.

That Sunday Ami went to Usagi’s house to walk together to Rei’s. When she rang the doorbell Usagi’s mother opened it. She smiled at the blue haired girl. “Usagi is packing her last things, she will be down in a minute, do you want some tea?”

Ami nodded and took the offered seat. Thanking Ikuko when she sat the tea in front of her. “So what is the plan for today?”

Ami looked up confused at the woman. Who then elaborated. “Usagi didn’t tell me much, only that you were going to have a sleepover.”

“Well, we will probably go shopping, get some food for dinner and have a game night most likely.” Ami gave a small smile which was mirrored by the mother.

“If it was anyone else but you I’d be worried she was going to sneak out to the airport. I’m so glad she has a friend like you Ami. I think your levelheadedness has rubbed off on my Usagi.”

Ami laughed weakly. “Thank you ma’am, Usagi has influenced me just as much as I have influenced her.”

Before Ikuko could reply Usagi came bouncing down the stairs. “Ah Ami-chan! Ready to go!” There was cheerfulness in her voice but Ami noticed a tightness around her eyes. She was worried.

“I’m ready Usagi, shall we?” She stood up. “Thank you for the tea ma’am.” They said their goodbyes and with a “Have fun!” From Ikuko they left for Rei’s place.

-.-.-.-.-

When they arrived they dropped their bags in Rei’s bedroom and together went shopping. They tried to relax as much as possible before the showdown. Having fun and not thinking about the fight that was looming over the day. It worked for the most part. Especially when they ran into Usagi’s most hated person: Mamoru Chiba. With Usagi literally running into him.

Ami never understood the animosity between those two. As she watched them go at each other with insults she noticed Usagi’s otherness became more grounded. Easier to watch almost. She thought such a thing would make Usagi more calm, but it does just the opposite.

“Aagrgh you are such a JERK! I don’t mean to run into you, you are just always in the way.”

“Says the lazy idiot who can’t stay on her feet for 2 steps.” Oh, low blow. Ami winced as she saw Usagi go red( _ ~~Something-flashing-behind-her-growing~~_ ) as she puffed up.

“Now see here..!”

Rei steps in before Usagi could actually finish her sentence. Putting a hand on her shoulder. “Calm down Usagi, I’m sure Chiba didn’t mean to say such a hurtful thing.” She shot a glare at the now surprised looking Mamoru. Looking like he realized there were still other people around. At the words he winced, clearly embarrassed.

“I’m sorry Odango, that was beneath me to say.” This time Usagi looked surprised, clearly deflating a bit.

“It was, did you never learn any manners. And my name is not odango! It’s U.SA.GI.” She pronounced the letters very clearly.

“I still have better manners than you O.DAN.GO.”

And before they started up again Rei dragged her away with Ami following. “What is it with you and that guy. Every time you two enter the same area it’s like an explosion.”

Usagi, who had calmed down a bit shook her head. “I don’t know, two times I accidentally threw something on his head and every time after that we’d just be at each other’s throats. I even tried to apologize for that but he just makes me so angry for some reason. He is just so frustrating.” 

Rei chuckled at Usagi miming wringing the poor guys neck. “I think he would say the same about you.”

“Oh, don’t you start also.”

After that they went about their shopping and it wasn’t until after dinner the mood turned tense again. They tried playing some games but nobody really got into it. Eventually they just sat in silence, Ami was trying to read something and Usagi was constantly looking at the clock. It still was only 9 in the evening and it was driving Rei mad.

“Usagi, why don’t you try to get some sleep. We’ll wake you when it is time to go.”

With some token protesting they got her in Rei’s bed and she was out a second later. Both girls silently went outside and sat on the porch. So not to disturb the blonde.

“It surprises me how fast she can fall asleep sometimes.” Ami quietly laughed. “It’s almost magic.”

Rei nodded in agreement, seemingly lost in thought. She was looking at the stars. Ami took out her book but before the could start reading again Rei spoke again. “How many of us are out there you think?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean as senshi. I’m Mars and you are Mercury, but there are enough other planets. Like Jupiter and Saturn. Do those have senshi too?”

“I imagine they do, we can’t be the only one.”

“You aren’t.” They turned to Luna who had just walked up to them from the stairs. “Every planet has a Senshi or protector. A planet isn’t sustainable without one. It would fall apart.”

Rei nodded and looked up again. “Makes you wonder, doesn’t it. Where are they now? Do they know the weight that is on their shoulders, or do they just walk around, not knowing what is coming for them.”

“Are you always so introspective at this hour?” Ami joked and a small laugh escaped out of Rei.

“Just on the good days.”

Then the three of them just sat on the porch watching the night fill with stars as the hours ticked by. When the clock chimed 12 they woke Usagi. In silence they walked to the edge of the stairs. Transformation items in hand. Luna sat beside them. “Good luck girls.”

“Well, let’s get this over with.” Usagi joked, clutching her brooch a bit to tightly for it to be genuine humor.

And with a flash of light they transformed and set of to the airport. Silently jumping their way across Tokyo.

-.-.-.-.-

The airport was packed with police cars and for the hour a lot of people were milling around. It didn’t matter though. With guidance from Rei and some well timed jumps they got in without any problems. Inside the place was quiet. It had an eerie feeling to it. Airports weren’t meant to be silent.

They followed Rei as she guided them to the place where she saw Jadeite in her visions, being careful not to get spotted, though most of the guards seemed to be sleeping or almost asleep. When they looked past a corner where Rei said the last guard was placed before their destination they froze as the guard laid on the floor, seemingly dead.

Usagi rushed to the guard and Ami and Rei followed. The woman was not yet dead but close, she was bleeding from her side where a dagger was plunged in.

“Don’t touch the dagger Moon.” Ami whispered as she felt for the woman’s pulse, it was weak but still beating. “She’s alive, but she won’t be for long if she stays like this.”

“We have to get her help.” Usagi whispered back, brushing the woman’s hair behind her ear.

“We can’t, Jadeite is waiting for us. We only have a few minutes to 1.” Rei urged Usagi to stand.

“Please Mars. We’re doing this to keep people alive. Not to let them die.”

Rei sighed and looked around, spotting a walkie talkie on the ground next to her. “Fine.” She picked up the walkie talkie and pushed a button.

“Anyone on this thing?” 

“Yes, who is this?”

“Your guard is bleeding out in hallway…” She looked around. “8.B. Better get someone here.”

She threw the Walkie talkie away before the person on the other side could answer. “There, called for help. Let’s go.”

With some more urging they were of again, leaving the woman behind but hearing quick footsteps approaching from another hallway towards them. They pushed trough a door and onto the runway. It was a giant area with different planes parked at the terminals. Grass and concrete formed many different lanes where the planes would take off. With the sea right next to one of the runways. Jadeite was standing not 30 feet away from them.

“Well, you took your time to get here.” He mockingly said. “But I guess that should be expected from a group of young woman.”

“And you just love making our life difficult.” Rei acidly replied. “But that is to be expected from a man, and college dropout at that.”

Jadeite looked confused for a second, before smiling again. “It’s a shame you all are so young. I hope you enjoyed your day, because you are not going to live to see the next one.” He jumped over them and suddenly all the stationary planes began to move. Coming towards them with engines roaring.

They quickly sprinted away from the surprisingly agile planes. They jumped on the planes and tried to get to Jadeite but he just blasted them away with a wave of pure energy. “Oh don’t be a coward!” Rei screamed as she landed on the ground again. Dodging a plane barreling right for her. Usagi was jumping on the planes again and motioned them to do the same. “I’ll distract them. Get close and get him on the ground.” They nodded and shot of in different directions.

“What are you afraid of Jay? 3 young girls?” Usagi shouted, making herself bigger. _~~(Things-extending-outward-shining-s~~ o-bright. _Jadeite looked at the moon senshi shocked. Eyes wide as the girl taunted him.

“What did you call me?!” He screamed, confused and angry.

“Jay! That’s your name isn’t it. At least that is the name on your missing person poster: Jay Tenoh. Such a shame that you ran off with a group that doesn’t even appreciate you when there are actual caring family members actively looking for you!” Usagi screamed back. Ami was measuring the signature and Rei was creeping up from the other side. Just a bit more and they would get him.

“Shut up! I am Jadeite, general of the dark kingdom and you are speaking nonsense! I have no family except for my brothers in arms.”

“You mean the other 3 Shitennou, Nephrite, Zoisite and Kunzite? Where are they then? I don’t see them here helping you. Some family that is!”

With a wordless scream of rage Jadeite suddenly attacked, charging at Usagi with a sword that materialized out of thin air. Rei ran after him, throwing a burning ofuda at the man. Ami also following, waiting for the moment to activate the disruptor.

With his rage the fine control he had over the planes wavered, causing them to go completely wild. Some even crashing into each other. Usagi ducked and weaved through the increasingly wild attacks on the moving airplanes. She was holding up admirably but it wasn’t enough. Rei screamed as one attack headed for Usagi’s neck but out of nowhere the tuxedo guy showed up again. Carrying the moon senshi to safety.

“Can’t go a week without a near miss, can you Moon.” He teased her as he gently set her down on another plane.

“Wouldn’t want to miss my weekly quota.” She teased back, looking at the still angry Jadeite who now had turned his sights on Rei. “Can you watch Mercury’s back. We’re trying to capture him. She has to concentrate.”

Tuxedo Mask nodded and jumped to the blue senshi. Usagi readied her tiara for throwing, waiting for Rei to move so she could hit Jadeite and distract him. When Rei made a left feint she threw the now frisbee and it hit the back of his head, knocking him forward right into Rei’s kick. Which launched him backwards and with a sharp cracking noise he landed against the side of a plane. The planes suddenly stopped and Usagi saw her chance. She yelled to Ami. “Mercury, now!”

A low buzzing started in the silence as the super computer began to emit a soft blue glow.

Rei and Usagi started to approach the downed man. Only when Rei got close a huge wave of power slammed her back again. She landed on the ground and hit her head hard against the concrete. Usagi winced as she saw Rei go white from the pain.

“YOU BITCH!” Jadeite shouted and tried to teleport away. Only to find out that he couldn’t. His eyes snapped to Mercury and with a wordless shout shot a dagger with a blast of energy at her.

It hit her. Tuxedo mask tried to move her out of the way but it still hit her in the stomach, making her drop the computer. With horror Usagi watched as the both of them got blasted of the plane and into the sea. They didn’t come up. They were gone.

Rei just sat up when she saw the glow that still surrounded Usagi flash as her look of horror mixed with realization. Then came the scream.

“MERCURY!”

It was as if it came from all directions at ones. As if hundreds of voices joined in a cacophony of anguish. Rei held her head as suddenly the thing behind Usagi grew, expanded. The fabric of reality began to warp and stretch. Engulfing the young girl until no young girl ever existed at all. In her place a mass of _gold-metal-and-wings-and-whitehothurt…_ Rei looked away from the painful image to Jadeite, who was still trying to warp away, crawling back from the _otherness that came closer eyes-hands-tentacles_ reaching out and wrapping him up. He was screaming.

Rei stood up and reality shifted again. Making her dizzy and not dizzy at the same time. A booming voice sounded again. “You did this.” It didn’t sound mad, it sounded sad. His screaming became louder and a horrible cracking sound came from the poor general who was bleeding red and black.

With effort Rei looked at Not-Usagi. Now expanding and glowing. It didn’t make sense, long limbs and feathers with eyes and claws of diamonds. It hurt to look at. The glowing got brighter and suddenly…

A memory. Her own voice.

_(Calm Serenity, focus on me…)_

And another. Her own laughter

_(I don’t blame you, just let it go.)_

The garden.

Rei’s eyes snapped to Usagi’s face. Focusing _only_ on that face. Glittering white skin like diamonds, 6 small _~~(Where they small or was the face huge?)~~_ wings covering the main eyes as eyes adorned it. A mouth full of sharp glittering teeth frowning. Metal strands surrounding the whole thing _~~(Wasthatherhair?)~~_

She took a step forward, towards Usagi’s face. Wetness ran down her cheek. It didn’t bother her. She took a deep breath and…

“USAGI!” It was barely heard over the roaring but suddenly all _(ALL)_ eyes were focusing on her. “Listen to me Usagi.”

“Rei…” countless whispers sounded. The eyes began to move as reality began to shift again. “Rei, what is happening Rei. Rei Rei it hurts. I don’t know what to do Rei, why does it hurt Rei please help. Rei Rei ReiReiREIREIREI!!” Came from everywhere at once as the distortion became painful. She landed on one knee as the screaming became louder.

“STOP!” She commanded “And focus on me.”

Everything stopped as all the eyes shot back again to her. She stood up and walked towards the face again. “Just focus on me, everything you have, everything you experience. Just me.” The pressure around her began to build as the light became stronger. She didn’t even look at Jadeite as he hung from _something_ next to her.

“That’s it, good job. Now listen very carefully.” Rei took a deep breath. “You are Usagi Tsukino, you are my friend and you need to let go.”

 _Everything_ shuddered around her and Rei winced but kept staring at the face.

“Just take a deep breath, calm down and let go.”

The glow became brighter as the air shifted.

“Usagi LET GO.”

The world became bright as the light exploded out of her. Jadeite began screaming again, the loudest she had heard from him ever. Though she didn’t understand why. The explosion felt like a soft warm breeze to her. Though large booms behind her may say otherwise. The light dimmed and there was Sailor Moon again, small and human. The world righted itself and the light disappeared completely. She caught the obviously exhausted girl as she collapsed into herself. A dull thump made her look at the General who was also slumped over, unconscious with blood under his eyes and ears.

“Mars…” She looked at Usagi who with great effort touched her face. “Your eyes. You’re bleeding.”

“Don’t worry about it Moon, just rest.”

Usagi’s eyes closed as she slumped into her.

“Holy Shit.”

On the runway Tuxedo guy stood, helping an alive Ami walk towards them. She was clutching her side and the both of them were soaked. The man looked around and Rei curiously did too, wanting to know the reason for his exclamation.

The planes that were chasing them earlier were completely blown away. Being flipped on their sides and thrown into the sea. Not a single one was left standing. Curiously the planes that stayed in their docks were completely unharmed, and so was the airport itself.

Ami extracted herself from the guys grasp and picked up her computer that was still laying on the ground where she dropped it. The buzzing still continuing.

“You okay Mercury?” Rei asked. “I saw you get hit.”

“I’m okay, it hit me but he…” she waved at the masked man. “apparently can heal. I got lucky.”

Her smile dropped as she looked around. “What happened here. I saw a big flash but…”

“Moon’s otherness overloaded.” Was the only thing said back. Ami’s eyes widened but she didn’t say anything else.

Rei stood up with Usagi in her arms. “Mercury, get Jadeite. And Tuxedo dude.” “Tuxedo mask.” “Tuxedo mask then, thank you for your help. We’ll handle it from here.” The man nodded and jumped away. Ami threw the unconscious general over her shoulder.

“Let’s get out of here.” Ami said as flashing lights came onto the runway. They jumped away just as the police arrived. Leaving only a crater behind.


	6. Questions and stories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a new chapter! I also added a bit of Usagi's perspective in here. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

The return to the shrine went without any problems. Luna was waiting anxiously for their return, still sitting in the same spot they left her. She ran up to them when she saw the state they were all in.

“Moon, is she..?”

“She’s fine.” Rei reassured her. “I’ll explain later okay, we need to secure this guy first.”

She gestured over to the still unconscious Jadeite being carried by Ami.

“Let’s get him into one of our guestrooms and Moon in my bed. If anybody asks, he’s a homeless drug addict that came here to go cold turkey. We sometimes have those people here to try that.” Ami nodded and they swapped persons. Rei taking Jadeite and Ami carrying Usagi to her room.

Luna followed Ami to her room and Rei watched them go. Sighing a bit before heading to the guesthouse. Inside she stepped into one of the empty rooms and deposited him on one of the beds. She de-transformed and grabbed some supplies to treat his wounds. Deciding on only taking his shirt she tugged it of him in a fluid motion and winced at the ugly bruising left on the guys chest. Curiously enough a cracked gemstone laid on his chest. It seemed like the black liquid she saw him bleed came from that, though the color of the gemstone seemed to be a bright green. With a washcloth she scrubbed most of the blood and black stuff off. She may have been a bit harsh with the scrubbing, but the guy almost ran her over with a plane and gave her a concussion. He deserved some harshness.

“Oh dear…” Came Ami’s voice from the doorway, supercomputer plus the charger in hand. “Did Usagi…”

“Yes.” Rei answered quickly. “But I don’t think she meant to.”

Ami nodded again and came to kneel beside her. Seemingly pushing in a few places on the guys chest. “I don’t know if anything is cracked but it doesn’t seem like he broke any ribs.”

“Okay, let’s just leave him here. These rooms are pretty sturdy and I don’t think he will be waking up soon.”

They left the room and Ami plugged her computer in the electrical socket in the empty room next to Jadeites, the disruptor still running. Rei locked the room and put the key in her pocket. They returned to her room where Usagi laid unnaturally still in her bed. Luna sat next to her head.

“Girls, what happened?”

Rei launched into a quick explanation of the nights events. When she came to the point that Usagi went ‘other’ both Luna and Ami looked shocked. “And then, I just talked her down I guess. I don’t exactly remember what I said, but it seemed right at that moment. It did still hurt to look at her but I just focused on her face so it wasn’t that bad. Then the light that was building up around her exploded out and she was back to normal.”

“That was quite a big explosion. Since I could see it all the way from here.” Luna said. “It made me very worried.”

“I think we were very lucky.” Ami shuddered.

“We did come out relatively unharmed.” Rei let out a small chuckle. “What is a small concussion and a stab wound right?”

Ami grabbed her side but let go after a second. She looked at Rei. “You do still have quite a large amount of blood under your eyes.”

Rei’s hands shot to her cheeks, they came away dark red. “Oh, let me just clean that.” She made to stand up but Ami stopped her.

“I already got some stuff from the bathroom, here.” She took a bowl with water and a clean cloth that laid next to another cloth. Carefully she wiped of the blood from Rei’s face. It felt soothing, like a good winddown after a long meditation session. When all the blood was gone the water in the bowl had turned dark red. Rei quietly thanked her.

“No problem Rei. Now we just have to wait for sleepyhead here to wake up.” Ami started frowning. “I wonder if she will remember.”

“I hope she doesn’t.” Rei thought back at the barrage of desperate voices. “She was really scared once she became coherent.”

Luna nodded in understanding and Ami worriedly looked at Usagi. After a few silent seconds Rei stood up.

“I’m making us some tea.” With that she walked out of the room.

In the kitchen she grabbed the tealeaves and set a kettle on the stove. While she waited for it to boil she rubbed at her head. This whole night had been exhausting and she hoped that she could stay awake during class in the morning.

“Rei? What are you doing up at 02:30 in the morning.” Came her grandpa’s voice suddenly from the doorframe. She startled and turned to see his small form looking at her in worry.

“Ah, grandfather! Don’t scare me like that!” She clutched her chest.

“I’m sorry dear, I woke up from a flash outside the window and just when I was nodding off again I heard you entering the kitchen. That woke you up to?”

“Ah, oh..” Rei floundered a bit before taking a big breath. “Sort off. There was a man on our steps when we went outside, he needed a place to stay the night so I helped him to our guestrooms. The… you know…” She waved her hand a bit and her grandpa’s face lit up in understanding and he smiled kindly at her.

“Oh of course. You followed the protocol?” Rei nodded and showed him the key. “I’m very proud of you my Rei, but you could have woken me.”

Rei shook her head. “I could handle it, he was very out of it, and I had help.”

Her grandpa grinned. “Those girls were very kind to help you. I shall call the shelter for information tomorrow. Do you need to stay home for the day? Or just go to school?”

“I’ll stay home if you don’t mind.” She smiled tiredly.

“Then I shall also call your school. Again, I’m very proud of you. You know I will always support and listen to you if you need it.” Those words felt heavier to Rei, like they meant something extra. She just smiled at her Gramps.

“Thank you Grandpa, I love you.”

“I love you to, now get that tea to your friends.”

When she got back to her room with the tea Usagi had still not woken up. She told Luna and Ami about the encounter with her grandfather. Ami’s face was pensive but she didn’t say anything. Slowly they drunk their tea in silence, checking on Usagi every few minutes. As the hour ticked by and Usagi didn’t wake, they both started to nod off. It had been an exhausting night. When they were both almost asleep Usagi began to move. Slowly at first but then she shot up, startling the girls and cat. She looked around in shock.

“What… Ami…How?” The blonde stammered in visible confusion.

“Easy Usagi, we’re save.” Ami soothed the trembling girl. “We got Jadeite, don’t worry.”

After pouring Usagi a cup of tea and her taking a few deep breaths she finally started to calm down. The trembling hadn’t stopped though, as if her muscles weren’t fully cooperating with her.

“What happened, I remember Ami getting stabbed… and then so much light and hurt.”

The girls looked at each other, everyone wondering how they should explain this. Finally Luna opened her mouth. “From what I gathered your power overloaded because of the shock you experienced and the adrenaline coursing through your body.”

“My power?” Usagi questioned, looking at the cat.

“Like Mars’ power is based on fire and Mercury’s power is water/ice. You seem to possess some kind of light based power. That is common for the Lunarian people.” At again a questioning look from the moon senshi she elaborated. “The moon people. Since you are Sailor moon you were a Lunarian in your past life.”

Usagi slowly nodded though her face was a bit unreadable. “So I have some kind of light power that destroys stuff, great to know.”

“It didn’t really destroy all the stuff, only stuff that Jadeite used, like most of the planes.” Rei put a hand on Usagi shoulder as she sat next to her, pulling her into a one armed hug. “It didn’t hurt me and Jadeite was still alive by the end of it. So don’t worry about it, we won.” 

Usagi gave a halfhearted smile and drank the rest of her tea. “So how shall we deal with the general?”

“He is still unconscious and I put him into one of our special guest rooms with the story that he is a homeless drug addict. Gramps seemed to believe it. I’m staying home tomorrow to look after him.”

“So best plan of action is interrogate him after class?” Those words really sounded ridiculous when Ami said them out loud, but that was their life now.

“Yes, can you get away with coming to the shrine again so soon?” Rei asked both her teammates. Ami nodded and after a few moments Usagi did too.

“The disruptor is in the next room, now that it is plugged into an electrical socket it should run for a good while. And he seemed very unconscious so he probably won’t be waking up soon.” Ami said with a yawn.

“That is your medical assessment Dr. Mizuno. Very unconscious.” Usagi teased, seemingly wanting to lighten the mood.

“You shut up, I’m tired.” Ami grabbed her blanket and laid down on her futon. “Let’s get some rest now we still have 4 hours till we have to get up.”

They both glanced at the clock. It was indeed 03:37. Usagi made to get out of Rei’s bed but Rei pushed her back into it. “I’ll sleep on the ground, you had a rough enough night as is.”

But Usagi shook her head. “It’s your bed, and you got blasted around a lot. You should stay.”

Rei saw the apprehension in Usagi’s face. “Why don’t we all sleep here. The bed is big enough.” She tugged a half protesting Ami up onto the bed and rearranged themselves so they all laid comfortably under the multiple sheets. And that is how they fell asleep. Resting against each other in quiet comfort. That was also how they woke to Ami’s alarm 4 hours later.

-.-.-.-

Usagi was not stupid. She may not be as smart as Ami or intuitive as Rei, but she was not stupid.

After a nice 4 hours of sleep with her friends Ami and her went to school. They walked past tv’s with news stations reporting on their fight that night, of the bright flash and damaged airplanes. One station was even playing an interview with the stab victim they found. Still in the hospital and surrounded by microphones. They said goodbye to each other when they arrived at school and Usagi walked slowly to her classroom. On time for once. She ignored the stares and looked out of the window.

Her mind was thinking about last night. The time between Ami getting stabbed and her waking up in Rei’s bed. They said she just had an overload of her powers, but she knew they were holding something back. She could see it on their faces when they talked about it. Honestly, she got used to the weird glances they gave her once in a while before turning away again. Only now something actually happened.

Usagi knew something was wrong with her. How gravity shifted around her and dimensions weren’t right sometimes. After all, no girl was born as clumsy as she was. She did not know what was happening to her but it scared her a bit.

She didn’t dare ask anyone, this was not something you could explain. After tonight though, her skin didn’t feel right anymore. She felt cooped up, as if she was stuck somewhere too small and everything was squeezing against the walls.

The thing was, she remembered bits and pieces of when she ‘Exploded’. She remembered grabbing Jadeite and him screaming in fear. She remembered being bigger, and gravity finally settling around her, only with reality being so confusing. But most of all, she remembered Rei standing before her, seeming so small and bleeding from her eyes. She remembered Rei telling her to focus and let go.

And then the explosion happened and she blacked out. If that was only her powers acting up. She was really scared to find out more about them.

“Miss Tsukino, can you solve this problem please?” Miss Haruna’s voice cut through her line of thinking and her head shot up to the front of the class. Miss Haruna stood next to a math problem that was drawn on the blackboard. She vaguely recognized it from homework that Ami explained.

“It is X= 18y?” She half answered, half asked after looking at it for a few seconds.

Miss Haruna looked surprised, as if she was expecting her not to know. “Almost Miss Tsukino, you only forgot to take the X2 in account which makes that the other side has to be square rooted.”

And the lesson continued. Leaving Usagi a bit disoriented. She was feeling that a lot lately, but she had to stay focused. She couldn’t falter now they had such a big advantage in their hands. She was the oldest senshi of the three of them and she had to act like it. How scary the situation may become, and it was getting very scary already, she had to step up and be the leader. So they could get through this alive.

They would get through this alive.

-.-.-.-

After school Usagi and Ami met up again. They chatted a bit and Ami let the blonde know that her mother called the school to tell her that she was working late again. “I expected it honestly, that always happens after a major youma attack.”

Usagi nodded, having heard Ami tell her this many times. “Why don’t you stay over at my place for dinner?”

Ami smiled and agreed. After a quick trip to the payphone and a short conversation with her mother they were on their way to the shrine again. Both were wondering if Jadeite had woken up already.

Arriving at the Shrine they were met with an unusual sight. Rei’s grandfather was in a serious conversation with a woman in a suit. They exited the guest part of the shrine and were walking their way. When Rei’s grandfather noticed them his face lit up with his usual smile. “Back again so soon girls?”

“We forgot some stuff this morning Mr. Hino.” Ami answered.

“That can indeed happen when you leave in a rush.” The old man chuckled. ”Rei is tending to our new guest, you can wait for her inside, she’ll get the stuff for you.”

They both thanked the man and went inside, but went to the guest part instead of Rei’s room. Rei, as if knowing they arrived, came out of one of the rooms and ushered them inside. Luna was also present and had commandeered the super computer, typing away and keeping an eye on the vitals the screen showed. “Girls, perfect timing. It seems like our guest can wake up any second now.”

The three senhi made the move to transform but before they could Jadeite, who had been restlessly shifting in his sleep, shot up. “ENDYMION LOOK OUT!” Everyone startled from the loud yell.

His eyes shifted from the cat behind a computer with her hair puffed up, to Ami who had shoved her body between the general and Usagi, to Rei who had her hand on a vase, ready to throw it, and finally to the transformation pens and brooch. It was silent for a second.

“O my god, I got my ass kicked by a bunch of 13-year-olds.”

“We’re fourteen…” Usagi said back, staring in shock at the once evil general.

“Like that makes it any better.” Jadeite sulked, crossing his arms and looking away. Then he blinked and looked around in shock. “Holy shit, I can think normally again!” He looked down at the crystal embedded in his chest. “Hey, Its green again! Nice!”

“I have so many questions.” Rei muttered, taking her hand of the vase and lowering her pen.

“It seems that whatever Moon did last night, it actually purified him.” Luna explained. “That would explain the dark magic residue I found in the black ooze that came out of him.”

“Eew.” Jadeite rubbed at the crystal. Looking actually horrified.

“So, he’s okay?” Usagi tentatively asked. “No homicidal urges or plans to steal more energy?”

They all looked at the man again, who shrugged and smiled. “Not that I know off. Honestly, I don’t remember that much from that time.”

“What do you remember then?”

Jadeite was silent for a moment. “It’s a bit confusing to be honest, I remember being a general for a forgotten kingdom. Being the royal guard and all. I remember you two..” He pointed at Ami and Rei. “But older. After a battle my memories became muddled and dark, with another mind bending me too their will.” He shuddered. “Then I remember a childhood here, in this time. Having a family, going to college, and then Kunzite showed up. He shoved my crystal back in my chest and broke another one and bam, back too muddled and dark.”

Usagi had extracted herself from behind Ami and had sat down next to the shivering man.

“It’s not fun being under someone’s control, I was aware in some way but my morals became so twisted. Then the airport fight happened and you…” he looked at Usagi with a bit of a strange stare. “Exploded, for a lack of a better word. It felt like I could breathe for the first time in forever, I mean..” Jadeite grinned a bit. “It was a pretty painful breath but I was breathing.”

“I’m really sorry, I don’t really know how it happened.” Usagi said, her head bowed.

“Don’t sweat about it, it got me out of that situation. I should be the one apologizing to you all. I mean, I hurt you guys more than you hurt me.” He patted Usagi on her head and ignored the indignant “Hey!”

“So you knew us in the past?” Rei asked, seeing as the guy didn’t pose a threat she had sat down on the table that was shoved against the wall.

“Well, you two definitely. Blue haired Mercurian and temperamental Martian. Though you look different without your tattoo’s.” He pointed at Rei’s face. “You and the 2 others never left the princess’ side it seemed like. Where are Jupiter and Venus, by the way?” He looked around.

“We haven’t found them yet.” Luna answered, jumping from the computer to the bed. “I’ve only arrived here a few months ago and these three were the only ones I found so far.”

Jadeite nodded and looked weirdly at Usagi. “I think I recognize you but for the life of me I can’t remember. Though I can’t remember most faces from that time. Can’t even remember the prince I used to protect, how weird is that.” He shrugged, everyone could see it bothered him but was trying to hide it.

“Back to a more current topic, we were actually trying to capture you to get some information.” Usagi straightened up and her face became more serious. “We’ve been running blind these last few months and I have a feeling now that you are out of the picture, things will be ramping up. We need some intel or we won’t survive.”

Jadeite’s face became more serious too. “It was a good idea, and lucky that you cured me first. I don’t think I could have said something while I was still under their control.” He straightened the blankets that pooled around his waist and looked at them.

“Like I said, much of my time under control is a bit hard to remember, but this is what I know.” He took a deep breath. “The leader is Queen Beryl, she stole Kunzite and Kunzite got us. Nephrite, Zoisite and me. She got a few high powered Youma called the DD girls guarding her palace together with a whole bunch of low powered youma, which is located in north pole. The ultimate goal from what I could remember was to awaken Metalia, get Endymion (the prince we protected), and rule the world.” The words were light but his face wasn’t.

“Oh no, this is bad, no worse than I could have ever imagined.” Luna gasped. Everyone looked at her now. “Metalia is a demon that one day appeared from the sun. The solar system managed to keep it locked up there but somehow Beryl got into contact with it and used it to wipe out all life, sans earth, in the solar system. That was how the silver millennium fell.”

“And what tore our kingdom to pieces.” Jadeite added. “Our kingdom was in ruin after Beryl murdered the royal family while Endy was on the moon.”

“Well, that’s just great.” Rei muttered. “Let’s add killing a solar system destroying demon on the long list of impossible thing to do to survive.”

“Luckily for you it is still dormant now, Beryl needs the energy I collected to wake it, but it will probably never be enough. Metalia will need something equivalent to the sun’s energy to fully wake up again.” Jadeite smiled at the relief in the senshi’s faces.

“That makes it easier hopefully. Still… Metalia is a big problem, even at half power she could be too much.” Luna responded. ‘

“So, who can we expect next to bother us with youma?” Ami asked Jadeite.

“Probably Nephrite.” Jadeite looked lost in thought for a second. “He probably will set up base somewhere and go for a single person to drain. Harder to track but less efficient than what I did.”

“We just have to keep a lookout for spikes in youma activity.”

“Or look at abandoned buildings suddenly disappearing.” Usagi pointed out. “It may be easier to catch him in between, or even before he starts all together.”

“We’ll keep an ear out.” The three senshi nodded to each other. Jadeite looked on in amusement.

“Honestly, I can kind of see how you kicked my ass, you are way smarter than an average 14 year old.”

“And you’re what, 19? Not much of a difference.” Rei asked acidly.

“I’m 20, and please remember those words when you are 19.” He laughed at them. “You will regret them.”

“Oh! We haven’t even made actual introductions.” Ami suddenly said. “I’m Ami Mizuno, pleased to meet you... Now that you’re not trying to kill us.”

Jadeite winced. “Yeah, sorry about that.”

“I’m Usagi Tsukino, nice to meet you.” Usagi shook his hand.

“Rei Hino.” The black haired girl nodded in his direction.

“Well, I’m Jay Tenoh. But I guess you already knew that.” Jadeite, well Jay said back.

“You prefer Jay?” Luna asked. “I’m Luna by the way.”

“I do, I mean, Jadeite is fine too but Jay is probably easier.” He shrugged.

“Then Jay it is. You were quite the news story the last few months. Going missing and all.” Usagi laughed. “It was pretty easy to find you with all the coverage it got.”

“Coverage…” Jay eyes widened and he slumped back with a groan. Looking very tired all of the sudden, as if all the energy was spent answering their questions. “Oh no, Haruka. She’s probably so worried.”

“She is. Do you want us to call her? We’ve already spun a story how we found you here and thought you were a homeless drug addict. We can spin it further that you escaped an kidnapping situation since a good amount of people have connected your case with the missing person cases of the other Shitennou.”

“Jeez, you go hard on your cover stories, but that is okay. You call her please, I don’t have the energy to deal with her questions right now, I’ll only talk myself into a knot if I try.” He pulled out a wallet from somewhere and slumped back down in the bed.

“If you want to sleep some more, we can leave.” At the soft please they left the room, heading towards the living room.

Usagi walked towards the phone that stood on a desk and dialed Haruka’s number, that was written on a piece of paper. Ami sat down and Rei went to get some tea. The phone rang for a few seconds before being picked up.

“Yes?” The voice on the other end was smooth and deeper than Usagi had expected.

“Is this Haruka Tenoh?”

“Yes, Who is this.” Haruka’s voice became a bit exasperated. She probably had to deal with an occasional fan call.

“Ah, I’m Usagi, I called because I found your number in the wallet of Jay Tenoh. That’s what the ID says at least. We found him last night wandering in front of my friend’s shrine.”

“Wait, Jay’s there! Let me speak to him! Where is this shrine?”

“Yes, He’s asleep right now so I can’t, and we’re at the: Hikawa Shrine in Azabu-Juuban, Tokyo, Japan.”

The voice on the other end got softer, as if Haruka had put the phone down. “How the actual fuck did he end up in Japan.” The voice came back again. “You are sure the person is Jay?”

“Yes? I mean the photo matched his face. Pale blond hair, sharp nose, freckle under his chin?”

“Okay, that sounds like him. Can you tell him to call me the moment he wakes up. I’m not in Japan at the moment but I will get there as soon as possible.”

“I will, I promise.”

“Thank you Miss.. Usagi you said?” 

“Yes, Usagi Tsukino.”

“Miss Tsukino, Thank you for finding him, I will see you in a few days.” And with that the woman hung up.

Usagi looked at the others in the room. “I guess you will have Miss Tenoh here in a few days.”

Rei sighed and Ami giggled. This had been a crazy few days. Usagi sat down next to the girls and promptly stretched herself out on the floor, _~~metal touching the walls and limbs sprawling over them.~~_ “Man what a day.”

“Tell me about it.” Both of them answered at the same time.

“Usagi.” The three of them looked up at Luna, they didn’t notice her leaving but she came back into the room. “I have something for you.”

With a flip a wand appeared. Shaped like a crescent on the top and a short pink handle beneath it.

“Since it seems like your power is leaning more to purifying energy, this may come in handy to focus it. This is the moon wand, the royal family used it for healing and purifying people and items. I was planning to give this to you later when you were stronger, but I think you can benefit more from it now, since it will focus your power to one thing at a time.”

“Instead of blowing everything up. Thank you Luna.” Usagi looked gratefully at the cat.

“It’s no problem my dear Usagi.” She curled up in the girls lap. The rest of the afternoon they took it easy. Secure now that they know more about the dark kingdom’s plans. They finally got a break from the relentless attacks that happened the last month. They were going to enjoy it for a bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment what you think of my writing style and story. I want to work out any bad habits before it becomes to ingrained to change easily.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	7. Meetings and Tennis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter Kicked my ass. Sorry for the long wait.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

The next few days went by peacefully. The morning after they questioned Jay he felt good enough to call his cousin and before their patrol Rei regaled them with the amazing verbal smackdown/concerned questioning miss Tenoh delivered that she could hear a few rooms over. Apparently she was flying out as soon as she could but it still took 3 days to get to Japan.

They did patrols but it seemed like Nephrite kept his activities low scale since there where almost no Youma to deal with. It was actually a nice reprieve but it made all of them a bit worried. It felt more like a calm before the storm.

They used the time to recuperate, train and plan for the eventual confrontation with Nephrite. Jay was a treasure trove of ideas and information. They learned a lot about their past lives and interactions with earth. Most importantly that their princess is called Serenity and that the earth was in first talks to join the silver millennium when their extinction happened.

“When our country had just discovered that there was more life than just on their planet I think the Lunarians came to greet us and invite us to join. It all went smoothly until a faction started to rebel on the false assumption that the other planets wanted to take over our home. I think that rumor started with Beryl.” A grim Jay told them one afternoon. “Though I don’t know why she would lie about that.”

Luna also spent a lot of time talking to Jay, it seemed that the more they swapped info, the more she remembered. Though that last year was still mostly a blur. Jay recovered well, the kidnapping story really took off and apparently became a bit of a viral hit on the internet. It was rare that a person was found alive after being kidnapped for that long after all. Luckily the press were respectful enough to not print the girls’ names in the paper, since they were underage. 

While training they began to focus more on their affinities, Ami found out that her power wasn’t really ice or water in particular, but more the concept of cold. The ability to slow the movement of particles to cool temperatures down. Though she still had some control over water.

“It makes sense I guess, with Mercury being so close to the sun.” The blue haired girl shrugged. “They had to survive those harsh conditions somehow.”

Rei on the other hand found out most definitely that her power was fire, with her creating fires left and right. It was handy that Ami learned quickly to put those fires out, they would have burned the whole shrine down otherwise.

Usagi wasn’t able to pin down the exact nature of her power. She was honestly kind of scared to have a repeat of the last time she used it, the airport was still recovering from it after al. She did find out that with the wand she could purify and heal stuff. She put her entire focus on that, and shoved the destructive bit of her power to the back of her mind.

The week went by and Friday came. The girls had decided to stay with Jay in the afternoon to greet miss Tenoh and offer support for the ex-evil general. The man was pacing up and down while the girls were discussing their weekend plans.

“Naru invited me to come watch her friend’s tennis match. Apparently she could be scouted there or something.” Usagi excitedly told the other two.

“That’s amazing, she must be really good then!” Ami smiled back.

“She is, but what are you planning to do tomorrow Ami?”

“Not much, probably catch up on some schoolwork.”

“Oh no, are you only a measly 2 months ahead instead of the usual 5 months.” Rei laughed at her friend, with Usagi joining her.

Ami only sighed and shook her head in amusement. “No, it’s extra credit mathematics and advanced English studies. So I’m prepared for any out of country universities, Jay told me a good grasp on English would make the whole process easier, and languages never come easy to me.”

Usagi just poked her with her foot. “Any university should be honored to have you as a student.”

“I’m still surprised how fast you pick up languages Usagi, if you put a bit more effort in it you could easily master them in a year.”

“But that takes woooork, and reading is hard.” The girl whined, though Rei and Ami both noted a smile creeping up and her posture straightening.

“Then start with English comic books.” They both laughed at Usagi’s: ‘YOU’RE A GENIUS AMI’. As she shot up and went to Jay, badgering him to send her a few English comic books. Jay looked at the girl with a bemused expression. Relaxing a bit as the distraction bled the tension out of him.

”How does she do that so easily, I’ve been trying to calm him down ever since he woke up.” Rei muttered, looking at the two.

“Natural talent probably, best not question it. What about you Rei, what’s your plan this weekend?” Ami looked at the shrine maiden who shrugged.

“Relaxing, taking a me day with all the pampering I can put in it.” Rei smiled. “I already bought a lot of self-care stuff yesterday.”

“That sounds nice.” Ami let out a small sigh. “Maybe I’ll do that too. In between learning.”

They both fell silent and watched the two blondes talking about comic books. For once reality doesn’t shift as much when they focus on Usagi. Things do appear and disappear every time she moves but it’s not blinding.

“Usagi has been less… active this week.”

Rei nodded in agreement. “It could be that she exhausted herself at the airport. It was a big outburst.”

“It could be… but I doubt it. She is still doing stuff, maybe we just got used to the otherness.”

“Maybe, I hope so. It would be nice, finally getting rid of those headaches.”

At that moment a car was heard screeching to a halt at the bottom of the stairs. Jay froze mid-sentence as hurried footsteps were heard running up the steps and Haruka Tenoh appeared quicker and less out of breath than they all were expecting. The woman was tall and lean with short blonde hair just like her cousin. Her dark blue eyes focused on Jay as he halfheartedly waved.

“Hey Haruka, it has been a while hasn’t it?” His voice sounded kind of weak as the woman marched up to him. “Please don’t hit me…”

No punch came as the woman instead pulled him in for a hug. Usagi sat down next to them again with a small smile. The two were having a rapid conversation in English and the girls only understood a few of the words. ‘I’m okay’ and ‘Worried’ were dropped quite often.

After a few minutes Jay and miss Tenoh came over to them. “Rei, Usagi, Ami, this is my cousin Haruka. Haruka, these are Rei, Usagi and Ami, the girls who rescued me.”

“Rescuing is a big word, we just dragged you inside.” Rei awkwardly laughed.

“In any case, it is nice to meet you, and thank you for dragging him inside then.”

“No problem miss Tenoh, He looked like he needed help and we could help him, so we did. That’s common sense.” Usagi smiled at the women.

“You would be surprised how many people would disagree.” The woman shook her head. “You are the same Usagi right? That I spoke with over the phone.”

Usagi nodded. “That’s me. I hope I didn’t disturb you too much.”

“You didn’t, and even if you did I wouldn’t have minded.” She shook her head. “In any case, Usagi, Rei, Ami. Thank you so much for finding my cousin. I had almost given up hope of ever finding him alive.”

She stuck her hand into her coat pocket and pulled out her wallet. Inside her wallet she grabbed 3 pieces of paper. Checks.

The girls immediately began to protest.

“Oh, we couldn’t…”

“It’s honestly no big deal…”

“We just pulled him inside…”

“Stop.” She held her hand out. “I promised I would pay the one who could find Jay and I’m not a woman who goes back on her promises.”

She gave them the checks. Ami went pale and Rei stumbled backward. Usagi looked confused at the number and back at the woman. “Miss Tenoh, I think you miscounted the zero’s…”

She burst out laughing and Jay joined her. “I didn’t, promise. And please call me Haruka.” She patted the odango’s and looked at the dumbfounded look on Usagi’s face. “Jay, she looks like a confused kitten.”

Usagi was to shocked to even get angry at the patting. She looked at the piece of paper, 20.000 dollar. That is… 2.1 million… “I really can’t accept this.”

“Well, it’s too late now, I’m not taking them back.” Miss Tenoh… Haruka crossed her arms. “I have to go now, Jay’s parents are waiting. It was nice to meet you three, I hope we’ll see each other again soon.”

With a small wave she turned to leave. Jay approached them again. “I’ll be in touch, I won’t let you deal with my brothers alone.” He handed Usagi a phone-number. “Call me when you find Nephrite.”

Usagi shook herself out of her stupor. “Yeah, we’ll call, take it easy Jay.” He smiled and jogged after Haruka. As they went down the stairs she could just hear a small snippet of conversation. “How did you end up in Japan of all places.” “It’s a long story…”

“Did that really just happen?”

“I guess so.” Usagi turned Ami, the girl had regained some color. “That was really unexpected.”

The three girls decided that they had to explain this as soon as possible to their parents. So Usagi and Ami took off after a hasty goodbye. Explaining it went over better than they all were expecting. Since their parents already knew they had found a ‘kidnapping victim’. Though the reactions to the amount were mixed. Rei’s grandpa was happy for her and tried to talk her out of putting the money towards the shrine, with only a little success. Ami’s mother was also proud and they both agreed to put it towards her college funds. Usagi’s parents however where shocked at the amount. Even trying to convince their daughter to give it back. When Usagi explained that Haruka wouldn’t take it back they also told her daughter to put it away for a good school. Usagi did, for the most part. She kept a bit as some extra spending money.

When in the evening Usagi came down for a cup of tea, she found her mother also in the kitchen. She looked up when she entered and stared at her with a smile. Usagi looked back weirdly.

“What’s wrong mom, you’re acting weird.”

“It’s nothing,” The woman shook her head. “I’m just really proud of you, Usagi. You have grown so much over these past few months.”

Usagi laughed, a bit embarrassed. “Love you too, mom.”

-.-.-.-.-

The next morning, after again a suspiciously quiet patrol, Usagi headed out to meet with Naru. Her friend was waiting for her near the park. Usagi ran up to her with a smile, only her smile dimmed when she saw the worried look on her friend’s face. She slowed her pace and sat down beside her on the bench. “Naru, what’s with the long face. Are you anxious about the tournament? I’m sure Rui is going to do fine.”

Naru shook her head. “That’s not it Usagi, It’s Rui herself… she has changed. You saw how she was when she visited me this Monday.”

Usagi nodded, Rui was a kind and gentle person. She has been living next to Naru for 8 years now. She was very sweet to Naru and coached her when she decided to start playing tennis. Patiently explaining movements and never getting angry. Naru had confided in Usagi that she had started tennis because Rui loved it so much.

“Ever since this tennis coach millionaire visited her, she’s been a…a…” Naru struggled for words. “A complete butthole!” Suddenly burst out of her.

Usagi startled, looking at the brunette in surprise. Those were some really strong words for her usually soft-spoken friend. “Why that? Could it be stress?”

Naru shook her head. “No, well maybe… But she’d never been this mean. Yesterday she snapped at me when we were practicing. I couldn’t get a hit in and she started berating me. Even the days before she acted like me being there was a chore for her. S-She never acted like that before.” She choked on a sob and Usagi hugged her friend.

“Do you still want to go Naru? I won’t blame you if you want to skip. Rui does not the right to treat you like that, even if she is stressed.”

“I still want to go. She is still my friend, even if she decided to act like that is not so.”

Usagi nodded again. “Okay, we’ll go. But tell me if it is too much for you. We’ll get out of there.”

Naru gave her a watery smile. “Okay.”

The walk to the tennis court was mostly spent with Usagi trying to cheer up Naru with some success. Naru was at least smiling again when they stepped inside the building that let to the court.

Suddenly reality flashed and Usagi lost her grip on gravity. Something was pushing inside her skull and strange colors shot left and right from her field of vision. Colors she couldn’t recognize. Then it was gone and gravity made her crash right into the floor.

“Ah! Usagi, are you alright!” Naru rushed to her and helped her up again. “Was it a dizzy spell again?”

“I’m okay, and yeah.” She rubbed her head, trying to relieve some pressure that had built up.

“You’ve been getting them more often, you should see a doctor again. This is not normal.”

“They didn’t find anything then and I’m certain they won’t find anything now. Nothing has changed.”

Suddenly the voice that Usagi least wanted to hear at a time like this sounded from behind them.

“Dizzy spells, and here I thought you were just clumsy.”

Mamoru dressed in a track suit, clearly just done with whatever sport he did, stood behind them. Naru was immediately on her feet and stomping towards the jerk.

“Leave her alone you meany! She doesn’t need any of your nasty comments.” Mamoru put his hands up in surrender as Naru jabbed a finger in his chest. Clearly startled by the outburst.

“It’s okay Naru, I can be a bit clumsy at times.” Usagi slowly stood up as she got used to gravity again. “But yes Chiba, I sometimes get dizzy spells. Now if you don’t mind. I was having a perfectly nice day and appreciate it if you did not ruin it with your presence.”

Mamoru looked even more shocked at her. “I’m sorry, I just didn’t expect… Ah man, that sounded really rude. I apologize.” He looked genuinely sorry. “Your friend is right Odango, you should see a doctor again. Unexplained dizzy spells could be very serious.”

“I’ve been having these since when I was little. The doctors never found anything weird in all the tests they did. And don’t call me Odango.”

Mamoru looked unconvinced, but left it at that. “What are you doing here anyways, you don’t seem dressed to go exercising. Are you here for the tournament?”

“Yes, Usagi and I came to cheer on my friend. We’re going to talk to her before she’s has to start. So, if you don’t mind, we’re going now.”

She took Usagi by the arm and dragged her away from the awkward conversation. Usagi apologized for the interruption but Naru was having none of it. “You don’t need to be sorry for that. You didn’t know you would have a spell and you didn’t know he was there.”

Usagi smiled, she was so glad she had such an amazing friend. Naru was a godsent even when they first met in elementary. Usagi used to be a weird kid back then but Naru hadn’t minded. She played along with her made up games and that had been the start of their friendship.

They arrived at the locker room and a teammate of Rui just came out of it. Looking surprised to see Naru.

“Ah, Naru! I didn’t know you would come today. Rui is still changing.” She shot a concerned glance back towards the locker room. “You should be careful, her temper has been… weird lately.”

“I know.” Naru leaned against the wall. “I’m just here to wish her good luck.”

The teammate nodded and walked off, leaving the two of them waiting in silence. Usagi glanced over to her best friend, but she was lost in thought. Usagi rubbed her head again. The pressure had stopped but a lingering headache was not letting go. Even though she didn’t want to admit it, the dizzy spells were getting worse. She’s been having them all her life but ever since she met Luna and became Sailor Moon they had become more frequent. It was really weird because in all the tests her parents put her trough there was never a conclusive answer. They mostly chalked it up to a underdeveloped vestibular system even though it looked normal on all inspections.

Usagi didn’t believe that. She couldn’t think of anything else wrong with her but that was not it. Maybe it was just stress that was making the problem worse. Her stress level had risen an awful lot ever since she began moonlighting as a senshi of the moon. That could be it.

The door suddenly slammed open and Rui came out. Naru quickly made her way over but stopped at the frankly cold stare Rui gave her. “Naru, what are you doing here.”

“I uh… well I came to wish you good luck.” Naru stammered, clearly unsettled. “I told you I would be here last Monday.”

“Oh yes, thanks.” The tennis player said dismissively. “I don’t need it though, I will beat all of my opponents to pulp.”

Usagi could see the drastic changes now first hand. She narrowed her eyes, something was clearly amiss. This was not just stress, her whole personality had done a 180.

“Oh, well that is not very nice. But I’ll cheer you on.” Naru was trying to stay smiling.

“I don’t need you to Naru. You can just go home.”

Usagi had enough, Naru was close to tears and she would not stand for that. “Hey! You could be a bit kinder to your friend. Honestly with such an attitude no one will cheer for you. Navratilova would be ashamed.”

Rui glared at her with surprising ferocity. “I don’t care.” With that she turned away and stomped off. Meeting a suspiciously familiar person at the entrance. With long brown wavy hair and dark blue eyes.

“I see what you mean Naru. That is completely out of character.” She looked at her friend who was trying to keep a brave face. “You said that It started when she met that millionaire tennis coach?”

“Yes, he offered her a coaching deal if she won today. I think his name was Sanjouin or something.”

_Oh._

That explained a lot.

“Masato Sanjouin by any chance?”

“Yes, that was it.” Naru looked at Usagi, suprised at her knowledge. “Do you know him or something?”

“Or something, I think I heard his name somewhere before. Do you still want to stay here Naru?” She looked at her friend in concern. “I won’t blame you if you want to ditch this popsicle stand.”

Naru laughed a bit. “I’m staying, I made a promise. I won’t break that promise.”

“Okay then.” She looked around. “I have to go to the bathroom first. I’ll join you on the stands.”

Naru nodded and left for the stands. Usagi on the other hand found a quiet spot and took out her communicator. She quickly dialed Ami, whom appeared in front of her surrounded by books with a mug of boiling tea in her hands.

“Hey Usagi, do you need something?”

“Yeah, I think I accidentally found Nephrite.”

That got her attention, she looked up from her books and put tea aside.

“Where?” Was her only response.

“At the tennis court. He’s influencing Naru’s friend somehow as this tennis coach millionaire. I don’t know what his plan is but this might be the time to put the tracker him. Can you bring it?”

The tracker was a small but easy back up plan they came up with. For if their main plan of finding his location by searching abandoned buildings or getting him knocked out in a fight didn’t work out. But it seemed that in this situation with him being ‘undercover’ it might be worth a try.

“Yeah, I’ll have Luna bring it, it would be strange if I left my room now with my mother home.”

Usagi agreed, she knew Ami’s learning habits quite well and it would be weird if she just up and left in the middle of a study session. Luna jumped into view as Ami got the small devise out of a drawer. She fastened it to her collar and got the directions from Ami. “Okay, it will take half an hour for me to get there, try to keep him there okay.”

“That won’t be a problem. I think tennis tournaments take longer than a half hour. Take it easy Luna.”

The cat did her approximation of a smile and leaped of the desk. Ami took center stage again.

“Do you want me to call Rei as stand by, in case things go bad?”

“Yes, but I don’t think anything is going to happen that I can’t handle.”

With quick goodbyes they hung up and Usagi made her way to the stands. Naru sat down close to the court itself and Usagi sat down next to her. She kept an eye on Nephrite when the tournament began. He was watching Rui play with an intensity that made Usagi uncomfortable. Only after the first round of qualifying matches she noticed that he wasn’t watching Rui, he was watching her racquet. She had a bad feeling about it.

Halfway into the quarter finals Luna arrived. With a meow she jumped up on Usagi’s lap to Naru’s surprise.

“That cat of yours has a sixth sense designed to find you, Usagi.” She whispered to her friend. Usagi laughed quietly as she scratched Luna’s chin and discreetly got the tracker. “She’s just that amazing.”

Luna curled up next to her and Usagi subtly pointed out Nephrite. Luna after that also watched him like a hawk for any suspicious movements.

As the tournament descended into the finals Rui made her way to the court again. Seeming overconfident to the max and the match began. What followed was a honestly amazing back and forth of tennis plays that only made the girl angrier. When she finally screamed in frustration it happened. A bright flash and a explosion rocked the court. Usagi was on her feet as soon as she saw the flash but was not fast enough to completely shield Naru from the blast. As a piece of metal hit her head she was immediately knocked out. Her ears were ringing as she saw a youma rise up from Rui’s Racquet. With the tennis player herself falling unconscious.

With a strength build up from fighting youma she picked up her fallen friend and carried her to safety. Inside the empty building there was not a lot of damage so she put Naru against a wall. “Luna, watch over her.” She told the cat.

Her thoughts were faster than her hand as before she even touched her brooch she was already transforming. Ribbons fluttering around her as she ran back towards the court. The youma was walking towards Nephrite and for a moment there it looked as if they both were going to teleport away. She put a stop to that with one big yell of: “Hey, you! Get back over here!” Nephrite suddenly took on a scared façade and cried out for help. The youma turned back to her.

“Now…” She said as she jumped onto the court. “I’m going to give you 3 seconds to return all that energy back to that nice lady and go away. If you don’t.” She summoned the moon wand into her hand. “This will be painful.”

The youma laughed at her and shot a whole lot of tennis balls at her. She dodged them with ease and readied her wand. “Your choice.” She shot a beam of light towards it and launched herself at the youma. It dodged the light but got a kick to the face as a result. Usagi quickly followed that up with several punches before having to dodge more tennis equipment being thrown at her from multiple directions.

She shot more beams of light before a lucky net pinned her arm to the wall. The youma slowly made her way over to her, monologuing all the while. Usagi only half paid attention as she tried to remove the netting from her arm and get loose. Apparently the name of that creature was Tesuni and something about more energy.

Before she was completely free a rose lodged itself into the side of the youma, distracting it long enough for Usagi to get free and get a good hit in. “Thanks Tux, but I had it covered.” She glanced at the black shape that appeared beside her.

“I know Moon, but a helping hand makes things easier right?” Tuxedo mask gave her a slight smile as he got out his cane.

“True, can you keep her still for a moment. I want to try something new.”

With a shrug the man ran towards the stumbling youma, getting it in a chokehold. Usagi readied her weapon as Tux turned it towards it. She pointed her wand at the youma and concentrated. Suddenly the words flew into her mind.

“Moon healing escalation!”

A massive beam of light shot towards her target and it got ingulfed by it. With a piercing cry it disappeared and a large ball of energy was left where it once stood.

“Jeez, that almost knocked me down.” Tux dusted off his pants and looked at Usagi. “New attack?”

“Sorry, and I guess so.” She lightly touched the ball of light and guided it back towards Rui, who was barely breathing at this point. The light entered her and her breathing became normal again. “That takes care of that, this looks new breed of youma. We’d have to be quicker now. It seems that they don’t keep the people they drain alive for long.”

Tux nodded and without a word further jumped away. Usagi turned to Nephrite, he was inching towards the exit and she quickly caught up to him. She put on a concerned face and got the tracker out of her pocket.

“Hey sir, are you alright?”

Nephrite looked surprised but quickly righted himself.

“I am perfectly fine. Thank you Sailor moon” His whole posture screamed that he wanted to get out of here. “Now if you excuse me, I have to go.”

Usagi patted him on the shoulder and snuck the tracker under the lapel of the coat. “Okay, be careful sir.”

She turned away to look at the other victims of the blast. She saw a flash of red and Mars joined her. “Looks like I’m late to the party.” She joked. “Guess I’ll help with the clean-up.”

“It was nothing too special, Luna called you?” At the nod she shook her head. “Always so concerned.”

“You can’t really blame her. With you falling unconscious the last time there was a big battle.”

“I get it.”

They went to work getting all the people they could find out from under the rubble that the explosion made. Luckily the people they found were only mildly injured. All the while Usagi filled Mars in on what had happened.

They were almost done before the autorities arived. They decided that everyone was save enough to survive a few more minutes, so with that Mars left and Usagi went back to Naru, de-transforming and sitting down next to her. Only a few seconds after police and paramedics burst in and got them out. Usagi stuck to a story about seeing the explosion and getting herself and her friend to safety, hiding from the youma. After Naru woke up and got checked out they left the park. They saw Rui getting wheeled into an ambulance with police questioning her, looking worse for wear but alive. Naru ran up to her and Usagi watched as they exchanged some words and hugged. She came back over as the ambulance drove off.

“Rui doesn’t remember anything after meeting mister Sanjouin.” Naru answered the unspoken question. “They think the youma got her after the meeting.”

Usagi just stared at a red car driving after it, seeing Nephrite in the driver seat. “I hope she recovers fast.”

They got a late lunch at a nearby food stall and talked for a bit longer, it was mostly Naru asking what had happened after she got knocked out. After finishing they said their goodbyes and went home. Usagi decided not to go immediately to her house sat down on a bench. This was supposed to be a relaxing day, but she guessed that those days would become less frequent the longer she had to fight.

Luna perched herself on her lap. “Did it work?”

“Yes.”

“Are you okay then?” The cat looked concerned. Usagi couldn't blame her, she felt a bit tired and the headache was only now subsiding a bit.

“I will be.”

Luna purred and curled up, trying to offer some comfort. “It will be okay Usagi. I’ll be here.”

Her com chirped and Ami’s concerned face appeared. “Did you get it on him?”

Usagi mustered up a small smile. “I did, it should be transmitting his location.”

“Great! I’ll begin tracking him then.”

Usagi gave a thumbs up and hung up. She looked at the peaceful park, a peace that was only broken by the sirens of the ambulances and police. “So now we wait.”


	8. Headaches and Healing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. I finally got a job so writing has slowed down immensly. 
> 
> I still hope you enjoy it!

When Rei came home after the cleanup at the tennis court she was glad she saved the bath part of her relaxing day for later in the day. Since she could really use a soak after lifting so many piles of rubble. She started to fill up the bath and went to the kitchen to make herself a nice cup of tea. Luna had called her the second Usagi stepped out of the door. Which she knew because she saw the ends of her transformation ribbons whip into frame. She kind of understood Luna’s response. This was the first time Usagi had to fight alone after the airport incident and that cat was always so protective over the moon senshi. All three of them wanted Usagi to be safe and sane, but Rei knew Usagi could handle it on her own. Ever since she got that enormous power boost, that girl had become a literal powerhouse.

The teapot whistled, and she poured absentmindedly the tea into another one with leaves already in there.

She honestly didn’t think that Luna gave Usagi the wand for focusing her power. Usagi got such an enormous power boost that the wand was there to reign it in. After the airport incident something had broke in Usagi, a seal or something. The otherness was almost constant now. At first she thought that Usagi had used to much power so she had depleted herself that it almost only manifested in smaller happenings, but that was not the case. Usagi had settled a bit but she shone brighter than ever before. At the court it had taken Rei several minutes to realize that it was not normal to see Usagi with wings and an extra set of eyes, luckily the moon senshi hadn’t noticed it herself.

It was speeding up, so they had to speed up their search.

The sound of dripping water made her snap out of her thoughts. Looking down she saw that the pot had overflowed and boiling water was running over her hand. She snatched it out of the water as a reaction, but then she realized there was no pain. Her hand looked fine and the boiling hot water didn’t damage it a bit.

Usagi wasn’t the only one with changes happening to her. After her freak-out a few weeks ago she had been indeed noticing some things changing with her. Starting with her eye color. It had started to shift more to the purple side. It was still not very noticeable for someone not specifically looking for it, but it wouldn’t take long before someone would notice. Then there was her tolerance to temperatures, she was never one to really be bothered by heat but also now cold was no problem as well. And it seemed heat had shifted to normal tolerance to being able to endure 100 degrees. She flexed her hand and the slight redness dissipated.

She was not going to lie, it still freaked her out, but she could deal with these small changes. She took a deep breath and fixed her pot of tea. When she returned to the bathroom the tub was almost full. Rei poured some bath oils in and stripped down. With a grateful sigh she sunk into the warm water. It was a delight for her sore muscles.

When she was relaxed enough she stretched out her arm to grab a book only to freeze in place. There, just on the outside of her shoulder. Dark red lines coming from her back and slowly stretching across her arms. She shot up and the mirror behind her showed an intricate piece of art slowly being drawn on her back, slowly growing outward. She slumped back into her bath, panic slowly creeping into her. This isn’t happening, she was just getting used to her eyes changing. This was too much, too much and too fast. Rei decided she wasn’t going to deal with this now, after her bath she’d call Ami. Now she will just not think about it. She picked up the magazine and steadfast ignored the red lines slowly creeping further.

-.-.-.-.-.-

After finishing the call with Ami, Usagi decided to go home. There was nothing in the park that would give her a bit of peace and quiet, now that also the firefighters had arrived. Together with Luna they walked their way back home.

Her headache had subsided for the most part, she was glad it didn’t stay longer. The last time she had an headache that bad it made her miss 2 weeks of school. That was not a thing she wanted to repeat.

When she finally arrived home her mother hugged her and asked her if she was okay. The news must have spread faster than she expected. She reassured her she was fine and Naru was too. They fled the scene before the youma appeared etc. etc. It had become a horrible habit, lying to her own mother. She wished she’d never gotten used to it. After a small conversation Usagi wanted to go upstairs but remembered that she had promised Jay she would call if anything with Nephrite showed up. So with another lie she got permission to take the phone upstairs to make a call in private.

She sat on her bed and with a deep breath she called the number she got from Jay. It took a few rings before anyone answered, but then Jay’s voice came over the phone. He sounded a bit tired. ”Hello, Jay speaking. Who is this?”

“Hey Jay, It’s Usagi.”

“Oh hey Usagi!” Jay’s voice perked up. “Miss me already? it has only been a day!”

Usagi let out a short laugh. “You wish, but no. We got a lead on Nephrite.”

It was silent for a moment, it sounded like Jay was walking somewhere. Then he came back on the line. “This soon? I had expected him to take more time with his plots.”

“It was by happenstance. He was at the same tennis game I was. He was influencing a tennis player for her energy. I don’t really know how he got the youma in the racquet but he did.”

A noise of confirmation sounded over the phone. “He’s using talent and drive for energy. Risky, but effective if you know the right person. Kills the host real fast.”

“Luckily she made it then.”

“Yes, lucky.” It didn’t sound like he completely agreed with her.

“I got the tracker on him at least. So we should know his base of operations soon. Will you be able to get away?”

“With difficulty.” Jay answered honestly “I’m kind of being watched 24/7. Which is understandable but… oppressing.”

Usagi could sympathize with Jay. “You’ve been gone for quite some time, but it sounds like they’ve become overprotective to the max. I wish I could do something.”

“I love them… but yes.” Jay sounded exhausted. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about it Usagi, I’ll be there when you need me.”

Usagi blinked, that sounded… familiar?

_Don’t worry your pretty little head about it Sere, we’ll keep Endy out of trouble._

The headache flared up again so suddenly that she let out a hiss of pain. The phone clattered out of her hands as she grabbed her head and Luna shot up alarmed.

“Usagi? Are you okay?” The cat spoke in alarm. From the phone the tiny voice of Jay also called her name.

“Yeah, headache.” She Picked up the phone. It took way more effort than usual to keep her voice steady . “I’m okay Jadeite, I just got a headache suddenly. It won’t be long before we pinpoint his location. We’ll call you the day before we go.”

“Okay Usagi, I hope the headache goes away soon.”

“Thanks, see you soon.”

He hung up and Usagi set the phone aside as she curled into a ball. The headache was worse than normal and light started to hurt her eyes.

“Usagi.” Luna’s voice was softer. “What’s going on?”

“Bad headache, have them sometimes. This time worse. Get mom…” While headaches plagued her once in a while for her whole life, this one set her whole head on fire. She shut her eyes and curled up further. She heard Luna exiting the room and loud meowing downstairs. Drawing the attention from her mom who followed the cat upstairs and into her room.

A small gasp sounded as her mom entered the room. “Oh Usagi, not again.” She heard her mom sigh as she closed the blinds and helped her daughter into bed. “Rest up, I’ll call school tomorrow to tell them you’re sick.” She pressed a kiss against Usagi’s head and walked downstairs again.

Usagi reached out to Luna who bumped her head against her hand. “Luna, patrol, don’t think I can…” The cat shushed her.

“I’ll let Rei and Ami know. They can handle one night on their own. Later you will tell me about this headache problem. For now rest up.” She grabbed her communicator from the nightstand and left through the window. Leaving Usagi alone with her thoughts.

She didn’t understand, most of the time these headaches and dizzy spells happen with plenty of forewarning. Seeing aura’s or looking at bright lights for too long. Is it really stress that was causing this, or is something else at play here? And _Sere_ , Why does that name hurt so much. Usagi couldn’t think of an answer. It hurt to think of an answer.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Luna arrived at the shrine and was surprised to see Ami walking up the stairs also. The blue haired girl looked worried and Luna knew from months of observing Ami’s work schedule that there were not many things that could get her away from a study day. Ami turned around at the sound of her approaching.

“Hey Luna, did Rei also call you?”

Luna shook her head. “Usagi has become unwell, I came to tell her, and after that you, that you’d have to do patrols on your own tonight. Why did Rei call you?”

The worry intensified on Ami’s face. “You’ll see.”

With that ominous statement they made their way up the steps and were greeted by a pacing Rei in her miko outfit. When she saw them she quickly ushered them inside. The sitting room was as clean as ever but the worrying girls made it feel stifling. Ami laid a hand on Rei’s shoulder before guiding her to sit at the table.

“Rei, take a deep breath and explain why I had to come here so fast. You really worried me.”

Rei took that deep breath, tried talking, and then took another as words wouldn’t come. After a few more breaths she had calmed down enough to start talking.

“Things are speeding up, at first it was just my eyes changing to purple of all things , but now...” She rolled up her sleeve to reveal thick dark red lines spreading across her arms. “I just noticed them today, how in the world am I going to hide this.”

Her desperate look shot from a shocked Luna to Ami, who didn’t look all that shocked.

Luna didn’t know how to react. How could she forgotten the patterns all Martians were born with. It wouldn’t take long before it took over her whole body. That is indeed not something you could hide easily.

Two small clinks sounded as Ami fished something out of her purse. “Body concealer and setting powder.” Two jars were set down on the table. Ami looked coolly at Rei, who was slowly calming down. The look wasn’t mean, just analytical and calm.

“Where did you get…?”

“From the internet. Lots of people cover up… skin problems. ”

“So you…?”

Before Rei could actually finish her sentence Ami had already taken a handkerchief, doused it in alcohol and was rubbing it on the back of her hands. Slowly the concealer came off to reveal blackened hands. As if she had suffered frostbite and her hands could fall off any moment. “It started not long after my original hair color didn’t return. At first it was just my fingernails, which I fixed with some nail polish. Then it spread to my hands.” She sighed and applied the concealer again. “All my extremities are changing color. I don’t think it will spread further as it has stopped at my lower limbs but it was… disconcerting to say the least.” She looked at her hands to see if she missed a spot. “I think my fingers are also longer, but I can’t say that for certain.”

The indifference she spoke with didn’t match her words. Her posture was as calm as a lake, only when Luna looked closer she saw the trembling in her hands before she balled them up. She glanced at Rei who had noticed it too. She laid a hand on her friends arm.

“What is the site called?” She softly asked.

Ami quietly gave the address and the names of the products. Luna looked sadly at the two girls silently comforting each other. Wishing she could do anything to ease the struggle they were going through. Only, she was the bearer of more bad news.

“Girls, you will have to do the patrol tonight on your own.” They both turned to her in anxious confusion. “Usagi… is not feeling well.”

The confusion turned to fright. Luna couldn’t blame them. She was scared herself. “She has a really bad headache, apparently she had them before. Frequently, if I read the reaction of her mother correctly.”

That calmed them down a bit. “We’ll handle the patrol. Just make sure Usagi is alright. If this is something that happens often we shouldn’t worry that much.” Rei said, though her face made Luna believe she was putting up a strong front to hide the worry.

But the cat just nodded and after a bit of small talk and planning she left them to go back home.

.-.-.-.-.

The walk back home was quick and when she finally hopped through the open kitchen window she found that Ikuko was not in the kitchen. Hearing soft voices from the living room she quietly made her way toward it and saw both parents sitting at the table. It seemed she had walked right into a discussion.

“We can’t do that to her again Kenshi, she was in the hospital for 3 months the last time and they still couldn’t find anything.”

“I know sweetheart, but they thought the medication would work this time, if she still has those dizzy-spells then it’s not working. We have to take her back.”

“For what, another long stay and missed classes just to hear them say ‘I don’t know.’ Again?”

“But you saw her, it’s worse now. She was almost crying from the pain and the painkillers aren’t working well enough. We can’t give her anything stronger without a hospital visit.”

Their argument got interrupted by Usagi’s brother barging into the house with a yell that got shushed immediately by both parents. When his loud protestations got also shushed he sulkily asked if Usagi was having one of her episodes again. With a yes and instructions to be quiet he got send to his room. They turned back to each other but before the discussion could continue they noticed her sitting in the doorway.

“Ah Luna!” Ikuko exclaimed in surprise. “I wondered where you ran off to.”

She picked the cat up and got out some treats. “For being such a good girl and alerting me that Usagi was in pain.”

Apparently she had bought some deluxe treats from the store. Luna was surprised but wasn’t going to say no to some snacks. Usagi had rubbed of on her way to much.

“That cat is very freaky.” Kenshi muttered. “Showing up out of nowhere and being way smarter than any cat should be.”

“Be nice dear. Cats are smart creatures.”

“Still, that cat just looks at you, and it seems like she can understand you.”

“Don’t be silly.”

Luna looks at Usagi’s father, and he stares back. Before looking away and muttering how he knows it for sure. With a graceful leap she jumped of the table and went upstairs. As much as she loved riling up the Tsukino patriarch, she had more important things on her mind. Usagi’s door was closed, but with a simple tug on a rope the girl had made for her she entered it. The room was dark with the young girl curled up on the bed. She pawed the door closed and every sound that came from outside was cut off.

She softly made her way to the bed. Usagi didn’t look good, she was shivering and pale. Luna softly called out.

“Usagi?”

The girl’s eyes open slightly, a slow smile crept up her face. “Luna, you’re back.” She shifted to make room for the cat. Doing so revealed a patch on her arm. It was a pain killer patch clearly cut in half. “I hope Rei and Ami weren’t too mad at me.”

“They were not my dear girl. Are you feeling better?”

“A bit, Mom called the doctor to get permission to use the last fentanyl patch we had. They never really help but they take the edge off.”

Luna curled up next to her charge. She decided although she probably knew what was happening, she still wanted answers. “What is happening Usagi? This is clearly not the first time.”

“It’s a bit weird to be honest.” Usagi laughed. “For as long as I remember I’ve had these ‘dizzy spells’, the world and gravity would stop making sense for a while and I’ll fall. They always combined with seeing aura’s and headaches after. It started off with it only happening once in a while but as I grew older they became more frequent. I went to the doctors many times for it but they never found out what was happening. They just chalked it up to some underdevelopment in my ears.”

She took a deep breath.

“After I became Sailor moon they have become worse. More frequent, more potent. I think it might be stress but…”

She fell silent. Luna didn’t know what to say. She was sure this was a side effect of her transitioning but to know it had been going on for so long… 

“It will be alright, once we find the princess and defeat the Dark Kingdom the stress will decrease.”

It felt like an empty platitude to say, but she couldn’t think of anything else. She was sure that once the princess would reveal herself it would all be fine. Soft snoring alerted her that Usagi had fallen asleep.

Luna looked at the moon peaking trough a small portion of the blinds as night had fallen.

‘But I beg of you Princess, please come soon.’

.-.-.-.-.-.

The rest of the week went by without incident. Usagi had returned to school on Tuesday. She was worried her parents were going to take her to the hospital again, but they had decided against it for the same reason they refused anymore testing after an useless 3 months at the hospital. So when the last remnants of the headache subsided she went back to school like normal. Naru did harp on her for not telling her the dizzy spell was that bad, and Miss Haruna was just a bit kinder than usual during her lessons.

After school that first day she had a long talk with Ami and Rei explaining her medical history, as they really needed to know.

“So we can prepare if something happens in battle.” They had said, but Usagi could clearly see they were worried about something else too. She was touched by how much they cared about her.

There was only one other attack from Nephrite in that week and it was caught by Rei when she was on a date. She had quickly called them for backup. The amusement park that was being renovated made for a bit of a tricky battle ground. But with the easy teamwork that came from the months they already had worked together they managed to get the youma out of commission before the construction manager it came from died.

After battle Usagi spotted a red car driving away. Quickly she turned to Ami. “Check Nephrite’s location.”

Ami had the supercomputer out before she could finish her sentence. They walked away with Ami furiously typing.

“Why where you even here Rei?” Usagi asked curiously. “This doesn’t seem like something you would do with friends?”

Her dark haired companion was silent, before hesitantly speaking. “I.. had a date.”

The squeal that came from Usagi was almost painfully high. When Rei turned to the blonde, the grin shone brighter than the halo surrounding her head. As they jumped up onto the first building Usagi asked for all the details. Rei tried to keep it vague but then the dry voice of Ami butted in.

“You could just say it was Mamoru, Mars. Moon would have figured it out anyway. Nephrite was at the park by the way, so the tracker has stayed on. I almost have a 99% probability of his hideout.”

They both turned to Ami gaping as she typed away while walking.

“Hold up. You went on a date with Chiba Mamoru. The same Mamoru who has been tormenting my existence ever since we met?” Usagi looked incredulously at Rei who just sighed.

“Yes, that Mamoru, but!” she held up a finger as Usagi readied herself for a rant. “In my defense. He is a really nice guy when you’re not around. He even saved Luna this Monday.”

Usagi deflated, dimming a bit and the strange metal construction that was building up with her indignation disappeared from behind her. Instead white ribbons slowly unfurled from her arms and fluttered behind her.

“Though I don’t think I really have a chance after the stunt I pulled to transform without him noticing.”

The ribbons curled themselves back into a metal construction as Usagi worked herself up again. “If that douche thinks he can just reject my friend after just one stupid…”

“Moon, it’s alright.” Rei laughed, that girl cared as much about her as she hated Mamoru. It was very sweet. “I don’t think it would have worked out, he’s like 4 years older than me. That’s a big difference.”

They stopped on top of a high skyscraper, the city stretching out before them. A couple of clouds could be seen gathering at the horizon with the sun slowly descending as evening arrived. Rei slung an arm around Usagi. “But thanks Moon, you’re a good friend.”

Then she pulled Ami towards her. Half in a headlock and half in a hug. “And I’m going to get you back for that Mercury.”

The blue senshi just gave a sly look and rolled her eyes. “Sure you will.” She carefully extracted herself from the hold. “Now, I’m almost a 100% certain that I know Nephrites location, it’s an old abandoned house and the blueprints weren’t hard to find. Nephrite should be there tomorrow if his behavioral patterns don’t deviate. So Moon. Can you call Jay and tell him to be ready?”

Usagi nodded and her face turned serious. The halo darkened behind her and a cold breeze started blowing.

“We’ll meet tomorrow morning 0900 at the shrine. We’ll take a look at the blueprints and hopefully with the five of us we can come up with a decent plan of attack.” Then Usagi relaxed a bit. “You get some rest and relaxation, I’ll take tonight’s whole patrol.”

“You don’t have to do that Usagi.” Ami protested.

“I know, but I want to, you covered much of my patrol this last week. And I want to do something back.”

“Usagi…” Rei groaned. “You don’t have to pay us back. You were sick, we covered for you. Nothing happened and we aren’t any more tired than usual.”

“Please? I want you both bright and fresh tomorrow.” Usagi laughed.

Ami and Rei shared a glance. Usagi wouldn’t let up on this.

“Fine.” ”If it makes you happy…”

The smile that answered them was blinding again. And they couldn’t help returning it. With small goodbyes they went their separate ways. The sun was almost at the horizon and Rei and Ami looked back at Usagi still standing at the edge of a building. Backlit by the sun they could make out shapes eclipsing her. Turning and bending in and out of reality. It looked apprehensive almost. The urge to return to their… to Usagi was almost unbearable but the order was clear. They looked at each other again and they both had the same thought.

‘I hope an end will be in sight soon.’

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Jay arrived at the shrine just a tad too late. It wasn’t his fault, honestly! Getting away from Haruka was a real challenge on normal days, and now with the whole thing that had happened…

His family had gone back to America just a few days ago, they were reluctant to leave him after his disappearance but life doesn’t just stop even after a traumatic experience. So they had to leave and he stayed behind. Stating that he wasn’t ready to return and would like to catch his breath in Japan before going back. His college was even gracious enough to waive his year and let him start again next year.

What he told them wasn’t a complete lie. Most of the things he said to them weren’t complete lies. It was a kidnapping, he was stuck for months, he did escape. But fitting Brainwashing, evil kingdoms and ancient memories in that narrative would sound crazy.

It was crazy.

And he still lived it.

It was hard to reconcile those two things when he was putting on a false narrative. Even the therapist they got him couldn’t really help. What would he even say. “Yeah I have nightmares about being brainwashed for the third time again and killing my whole family before the Sailor Senshi kill me. Thus putting the trauma of taking a life on a bunch of 14 year old’s.” Yeah, that would be a world record of fastest way to being locked up into a insane asylum.

Not that it would hold him for long. He had still all his powers from before. Teleporting, energy attacks and he even could summon his old armor. That was pretty cool.

He shuddered when he thought about the atrocities Beryl made them wear for uniforms. That had hurt his fashion loving heart. Not to take away from the other atrocities that Beryl made them do, but it was easier to focus on the more lighthearted stuff lest he be reduced to a sobbing mess 90% of the times he thought about his time under her control.

Tears prickled behind his eyes as he made his way up the stairs, but he held them back. This was not the time to reflect. He had a goal. He had to save his brothers from that fucking witch.

It seemed like such an impossible task. The only one who could actually cleanse them was Usagi, and even she didn’t actually know how she did it with him. Not to mention how he could get trough to them. He was the youngest. The one with the least power and experience. Even in his past life he was the last to join as General and royal guard.

But he had to.

He smiled as he reached the shrine and greeted the waiting girls. He wouldn’t have to do this alone, he had help now.

Unseen by any of them a yellow car drove away from the entrance of the shrine.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It was 12 when they finally decided they had a good plan. It wasn’t foolproof but good enough to actually work.

“So, to recap.” Usagi started while placing Rei’s figurines on a projected map. “Rei and I sneak into the back entrance and do some surveillance. We watch out for any booby traps since Nephrite is a fan of putting those into his bases. Ami stays outside and works on disrupting any teleportation before going in with you. We trap Nephrite, you try to talk him into being willingly purified. And if that doesn’t work, we break his crystal and purify him the hard way.”

“And be careful of youma, they might hang around in the base.” Jay added. He tried remembering any other important details but it seemed like they had covered most of them.

“I still don’t like that we are going to do this in broad daylight.” Rei frowned. “He could spot us from a mile away.”

“That’s why we have to be quick, and we’d be in the middle of the forest. Spotting us won’t be that easy. Besides…” Usagi looked outside at the overcast sky, dark clouds had gathered above them and it seemed like rain could fall down any minute. “I think you are overestimating the amount of daylight we’re going to see.”

Rei’s grumbling ceased and Ami chimed up as she closed her super computer. “He just arrived home, we should go.”

In unison that Jay couldn’t help to admire they transformed with flashes of light. He also closed his eyes and concentrated on his armor. The dark metal formed around him in a comforting weight. It was a standard Elysian battle armor. All of them had one made, but like the others he customized his a bit. With a small smile he traced the red edgings on his breast plate that led to his shoulder cape clasp.

“Well that looks familiar.” Luna spoke with a smile. He looked up startled as the cat jumped down from the table. He smiled back at Luna and turned to the waiting Senshi. Without any more words they were off.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The journey towards the house was quick and it wasn’t long before they were all in position. Jay was crouched with Ami behind some bushes as they watched Usagi and Rei disappear behind the decrepit building. From the microphones in their watches (and an older earpiece Jay had gotten from Luna) they could hear the two entering.

Ami took her super computer out and started typing. Jay should be paying attention to his surroundings but something was bothering him. He muted the mic and turned to Ami.

“Hey Mercury?”

“Yes?”

“Why doesn’t Moon hide her… well ‘attributes’ more? I thought that was this huge thing with Lunarians? And then before, when she got all explody…”

Ami glanced over in surprise, before shaking her head, muting her mic too and going back to typing. “I should have guessed that you could see them too. Well, Usagi doesn’t exactly know that she’s like that, all the things you see happening are subconscious. We’re afraid that if she finds out before we find Serenity and get our memories back her mind won’t comprehend what she is and… shut down.”

“Ah…. That explains it. But her form can’t be that bad…” Suddenly a memory popped up. “Then again, with how Endy reacted when he ‘saw’ her…”

“How did he react?” Ami asked absentmindedly. Though Jay got the feeling that she _was_ paying attention.

“Shocked, repulsed almost? I don’t think he expected to see the things he saw. He stormed out of the room yelling about Sere lying to him. He was being a dick to be honest.”

“Serenity was inconsolable after that. I took us days to even get her out of her room.” Ami mused before blinking. “Wait, that was new…”

A voice over their earpieces brought them back to their current situation. “Mars here, Moon and I are in position with Nephrite in sight, with just a slight complication. Listen.”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Usagi tried to be as still as she could, balancing on one of the small beams that lined the ceiling of this massive hall they were in. Her eyes were on Rei at the other end of the hall, close to the main door. The Fire Senshi was quietly talking to Ami and Jay. She looked down and trough the amazing magical display of stars she could see Nephrite.

Talking to Zoisite.

Well, it was more honest to say that Zoisite was talking to Nephrite. As the brown haired general was focusing on something else, they almost looked like tarot cards floating next to a cluster of stars that he had pulled down. She focused more to hear what was being said.

“Nephrite, please give it up. I can’t keep covering up for you.” Zoisite pleaded. “Our Queen is getting suspicious, the amount of energy you are collecting isn’t nearly enough to meet quota and we can’t just keep saying you are still setting up.”

“I know, but I have to look, Jadeite can’t just disappear like that. If those brats had killed him there had to be something left behind.”

“Neph…” The blonde man put a hand on Nephrite’s shoulder. “He’s gone, I know you felt it too. The explosion, the bond breaking. We all miss him, but you can’t go on with this fools quest for his body. Our Queen was already angry with him, it could have been that she did something. You know how she can be.”

“He’s our brother Zoi,” The pain was evident as Nephrite hunched over and the cards dropped. “We can’t just leave him behind without at least searching.”

“I know.” Zoisite hugged him from behind. “Kunzite is searching also as much as his job allows. Please just concentrate on getting energy. We don’t want our Queen to be mad at you too.”

The sigh was just barely audible. “I will.”

“Thank you.”

And with that Zoisite disappeared. It was silent for a second before Jay sadly whispered. “Oh, I never knew…”

Down Nephrite was gathering up the dropped cards, his whole stature screamed defeat. Usagi never felt this much determination to get this right, to make it right. With a sharp hand gesture she got Rei’s attention. She pointed down and Rei nodded. Her voice softly over her earpiece telling the others they were starting.

She dropped down on the balustrade that marked the end of 2 staircases leading to the second floor.

“Nice place you got here Masato.” Her voice echoed around the hall. The man’s eyes snapped up at her. “Or Nephrite, whatever you like to be called now.”

He turned towards her. “It seems like my cover is blown then.” His voice is pleasant, but his whole stance screamed hostility.

Usagi kept her pose relaxed as she slouched on the balustrade. “Yeah man, It was not a smart move to use your real name as a cover name. We’re not that dumb, even Jadeite was more creative.”

Nephrite’s eyes light up with rage and he takes a few menacing steps towards her. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.” His voice had gone cold.

Suddenly she had to move as stars blew the balustrade apart. Then she had to duck as lightning flew over her head. She glanced up at Rei who was waiting for Nephrite to get close.

“I wouldn’t necessarily call this talking.” She quipped back as she dodged another attack. Suddenly the room changed and seemed to stretch beyond infinity. Right, illusions, Jay talked about that. She closed her eyes and focused on the sounds around her. That way when an attack came again she was able to dodge it for the most part.

“Your illusions don’t work Nephrite.” She said as she slowly moved where she heard Rei shifting above her.

“Oh, they seem to be working just fine.” The voice came from right behind her, but when she punched it there was nothing.

She opened her eyes again to see Nephrite standing in front of her, laughing. She quickly kicked him in the knees and jumped back. Giving Rei enough space to jump on him. With a curse he went down. But before Rei could pin him he shot another star attack at Usagi. She got blown back and wrapped up in it.

Usagi wheezed as the attack gripped her tighter. She couldn’t move and her chest felt like it was on fire. In front of her she saw Rei put a flame next to Nephrite’s face.

“Let her go or I burn your face off.”

“I can crush your little leader faster than you can burn me fire girl.”

“Want to bet on that?”

It was silent for a second, then the pleasant voice was back as Nephrite relaxed.

“It seems that we have reached an impasse. You burn me, I crush her. Or I crush her and you burn me.” The general shrugged before fixing his eyes on Usagi. “So maybe now you can answer a simple question.”

“What happened to Jadeite?”

A familiar humming echoed through the hall as the door opened. Two figures appeared and Usagi’s face lit up in a smile.

“You could just ask him yourself.”

Jay made for quite an imposing figure, donned in his armor and with the sword in his hand. Usagi could see how he once had been a general. Though the smug grin on his face took a bit away from the intimidation factor. Ami stood next to him, her computer in one hand and a blast of cold water in the other. Seeming ready for any attacks that may come.

“It seems like you are in a bit of a hot mess Neph.”

The sound of Jay’s voice seemed to freeze the brown haired man as Jay walked into his view. His eyes were wide and mouth opening and closing, as if to form words but no sound came out.

“You’re alive…” The words were said softly, almost reverently.

Jay’s grin became more genuine. “Yeah, I am.”

The spell on Usagi suddenly ended, then Rei was flung off and Nephrite had Jay in a death grip. Rei landed on her feet beside Ami, looking a bit miffed at being tossed so easily.

“What happened? Why did the bond break? Why didn’t you come back? What are you wearing!?” The questions came as a torrent but Nephrite looked really happy. Then he looked at the Senshi. “Why are you with **_them_**?”

“Neph….” Jay sighed. “It’s a complicated story, and one I know you can’t understand right now.” He tapped on Nephrites chest, where the crystal was situated. “I just need you to trust me, you are not in a right state of mind for it. But what happened was that I got cured.” He looked at the girls. “They cured me.”

“What are you talking about? We’re fine. We don’t need curing.” Nephrite frowned and took a step back.

“You’re not, come on Neph.” Jay pleaded. “You’re smart. Think! Why do you serve Queen Beryl? What has she ever done to inspire the kind of loyalty you have for her?”

Nephrite’s frown got worse. “She’s our Queen, we serve her because she is our Queen.”

“But she’s not. That bitch was never our Queen.” The sharp glare he got for that comment was waved aside. “Remember Nephrite, she killed our Queen, she killed our King, She killed Endymion.”

That last word seemed like a punch in the gut for Nephrite as he went down. Jay was just able to catch him. Usagi frowned, Endymion still got a weird reaction out of her. She knew he was the earth prince but the confusing emotions she got by just mentioning it made it seems that they were closer than just guard and prince from another world. Though not all emotions were nice ones.

“Endymion… Jadeite, why do I suddenly hate Endymion? That doesn’t make sense. Why can’t I remember…?” Nephrites voice was faint and scared. Nothing like how he sounded just a minute earlier.

“It’s okay Neph, we can help. Will you let us help?”

Usagi traded anxious glances with Rei and Ami. This was it. Either he accepts their help or they had to do it by force. The silence stretched on and rain could faintly be heard outside splattering on the stone terrace. It was an eerily fitting backdrop to this tense situation.

“Okay.”

The collective sigh of relief seemed to startle the disoriented man. His gaze focused on Usagi as she approached. He let Jay go and seemed to straighten up. As if to regain some sort of balance. Now that Nephrite wasn’t attacking her the height difference became really apparent. He was almost a good foot taller than her. He was still wary and Usagi tried to make herself as unimposing as possible.

“So what will happen now?” He asked to Jay.

“Moon here will put that wand on your crystal and blast it with positive energy.” Jay said with a shrug.

Usagi rolled her eyes. “In layman’s terms, yes. I’m going to try to do the same thing as I did with Jay, only less exploding. Hence the wand. I’m sorry, it’s probably going to hurt. ” She put her wand up to his chest before noticing the awkward position. He seemed to notice it to and with a small laugh a chair shot out from somewhere. He sat down and with all the dignity he could muster he untucked his shirt so the black crystal was visible. He frowned when he looked at it, as if he didn’t expect something, maybe the color? But he gave a smile to Jay as the blonde man put a hand on his shoulder.

“Please brace.” Was the only thing Usagi said before pointing the wand at the now exposed nephrite. She pulled all the energy from her body and directed it to the point of her wand. A small ball of light formed on the end of it. The light slowly grew in size until it was the size of a baseball. That was when it touched the crystal. A small huff of surprise came out of Nephrite as it began to glow, then he himself began to glow too.

‘Heal.’ She chanted in her mind, concentrating on doing that. She could feel the black sludge moving through Nephrite, spreading it’s poison. It was concentrated around the crystal. Slowly it broke down but it grew faster than it was destroyed.

She narrowed her eyes and focused harder. ‘Heal!’ The glow got brighter and a pained grunt came from Nephrite. Breathing seemed to be getting more difficult for him the closer she got to destroying the poison. Suddenly, with stark clarity, she realized that the poison was taking Nephrite down with it if she wasn’t fast enough.

Not on her watch.

She closed her eyes completely and pulled everything she got. “HEAL!!”

It was as if a floodgate opened up, energy seemed to poor out of her and she saw a bright light behind her eyelids. She heard screaming and the poison didn’t even stand a chance. It burned up completely. She did it.

But the energy didn’t stop.

It felt like she was pulled inside out, everything came pouring out and she couldn’t control it. It started to hurt. She tried to close the floodgates but it was like trying to close a door in the middle of rapid waters. She didn’t dare open her eyes as gravity began to leave her again. ‘Oh god, not now.’ She heard talking from very far away.

Then a cold hand touched her back, right in the middle. Then another warmer one, on her wrist.

It grounded her.

She took a deep breath and slowly she got the energy under control. The gates closed and she felt contained again. It was a good/ _ ~~bad~~_ feeling.

She opened her eyes to see her holding a now smoking wand, the gold crescent glowing with heat. Behind that was a shell-shocked Nephrite, he looked unharmed with only a small smoking black liquid ruining his shirt and blood coming from his eyes. Jadeite still had a hand on his shoulder but the other one was shielding his eyes with a cape.

Rei and Ami stood beside her, Ami’s hand still on her back and Rei was now holding her up by her arms.

And there was a hole in the wall behind the 2 guys.

“Oh no, not again.” She groaned as feeling left her legs and she slumped into her friends. “Why do I keep destroying things.”

“It’s not that bad this time.” Ami soothed as she rubbed her hand between her shoulders.

“Yeah, this time it was only a wall, that’s way better than several dozen planes and a section of a runway.” Jay’s cheerful voice didn’t match the way he peeked carefully around his cape.

Nephrite just blinked a few times, then took a deep breath and stood up. That was not a good plan as he lost his balance almost immediately. He was only saved a embarrassing fall when Jay steadied him.

“Well, for the first time I can remember you were absolutely right Jadeite. I couldn’t understand.” Nephrite spoke, his voice sounded softer almost. All the other times there was an icy edge to everything he said. Now that was gone.

“There is a first time for everything.” Jay smiled at the shaken man.

“Don’t worry about the wall Sailor Moon. That won’t cost much to fix. Though…” He looked around. “I can’t really stay here anymore. Beryl knows its location. Such a shame.” He shook his head and stood up straight again. Any earlier signs of shock and exhaustion seemed to disappear.

“I guess we should relocate soon.” He held out a hand to Usagi. “Shall we?”

The hand seemed like an extention of a truce and a thank you all in one. Apperantly Nephrite was not one for words more than deeds.

With a short glance at her friends, who just shrugged, she took the hand. 

As they all walked outside the rain seemed to pour down upon them. Lightning rumbled in the distance and small flashes could be seen between the trees. The storm was in full force now.

Even though they rescued half of the Shitennou, Usagi got the foreboding feeling their fight wasn’t even beginning to start. More was on the horizon, she hoped they were ready for it.

On the other side of town a girl stepped of a bus and opened her umbrella. As she slowly made her way to a taxi she looked up at the pouring clouds. She wondered if this city would finally be the one that gave her a new chance.

Makoto Kino had arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm leaning towards a mix of Endymions armor and the live action suits for the healed Shitennou. And Makoto is finally here! I can't wait to write her dynamic into our group.
> 
> Please comment if you like this fic or if you have some fun idea's! I'd love to hear them!


	9. Makoto and Crystals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! I got a job so writing isn't as easy as it was.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Moving was exhausting, so  the first 2 days after Makoto arrived in Tokyo were spend at her new home. Decorating it and meeting with her caregiver who was also the owner of the building she now had an apartment in. Being an emancipated minor was not an easy thing, but her caregiver seemed like a sweet lady. 

The third day she finally started school. Of course, the administration got her measurements wrong so the school uniform didn’t fit. She had to fish an old one out of one of the boxes which made her stand out even more among the school crowd. Brown in a sea of blue. It was not a good start of her day. Then it got even worse when her guide didn’t show up and she had to ask around for directions, which got her even more weird looks because of her accent. Finally, she found her class 10 minutes after the bell, got to stand in front of a crowd of people staring at her while she clumsily introduced herself.

It was not a good day at all.

At lunchtime her sour face probably cleared out the garden as she sat down near a tree to start on her lunch. Why would it be empty otherwise on such a beautiful day.

It was not easy to start at a new school again. This was her fourth one already. Every time she had to start over it felt like her hope for normalcy was just withering away. She still had a bit of hope that maybe this time would be different, but that was also slowly slipping away. The students weren’t nice, the administration was shit and she just couldn’t see herself making friends with anyone. It seemed like she was destined to be alone for the rest of her teenage years.

Then she noticed it. 

When she opened her  lunchbox, leaves blew by her face. Which wouldn’t be unusual if the leaves weren’t bright white. Makoto looked up in surprise as more leaves blew past her and around the corner out of sight. Then a faint trembling in the earth. Nothing heavy like an earthquake but as if something was moving underground. 

The sun shone brighter as  _ she  _ rounded the corner. Makoto didn’t think it was human at first. Marble skin, broken like a statue with golden flowers for hair and too many sapphires where her eyes should have been. Flawless and ageless yet crumbling with time. She couldn’t make out  if nature was reaching towards her or if nature was reaching  _ out _ of her. It was so intertwined that she couldn’t make out all of it.

How it was moving she didn’t know.  It  was messing with every visual que she got. The spell was however broken when the school uniform became clearer and a normal student’s voice came out of the unmoving stone lips. 

“Oh my! Those dumplings look amazing!”

Instead of whatever she saw before there was just a normal girl in front of her. Blonde hair and blue eyes were the only thing that kind of reminded her of the vision she saw before. The girl had sat down in front of Makoto and was looking at her inquisitively. Makoto realized she must have missed a question and embarrassedly asked the girl to repeat that. 

The girl however didn’t seem to mind and repeated. “I asked if I could have one? Don’t worry if you don’t want to give me one, they just look so delicious!”

It was kind of a brazen question. Just asking for some food from a complete stranger. The girl seemed to realize that too after she repeated her question and became a bit  red. “Ah, I’m sorry, my name is Usagi Tsukino and I’m a bit hungry.”

The sight of this girl, steadily becoming redder in embarrassment as the silence stretched on was just  too much for her to bear and she burst out laughing. It was cathartic after such a bad morning. When her laughing subsided into giggles she managed to get out a sentence to the mortified girl. “Sure, go ahead. I packed to much anyway.” 

That cleared the embarrassment right of Usagi’s face as she delightedly plucked a bun from her lunchbox. A sound of pure bliss came from her when she took a bite. ”This is so good!”

She had actually made the buns so she could share them with her new classmates, but they were all  too intimidated by her to even invite her to sit with them. To see someone enjoying it to such a degree was a nice surprise.

“Thank you, it’s a fun recipe to make.” 

Usagi’s eyes lit up. “You made them yourself? That is so awesome!”

Now it was Makoto’s turn to be a bit embarrassed. She muttered out a small thanks and began eating another one. Usagi didn’t seem to mind the short answer and began talking about a variety of things ranging from her next classes to an arcade game she just couldn’t seem to beat. It was nice to listen and even though she didn’t have much input the things she said weren’t disregarded by the blonde.

Suddenly a bell went off, but it wasn’t the school bell. Usagi straightened and suddenly pulled Makoto up.  An apologetic smile on her face. “We should leave.”

At Makoto’s confused expression she elaborated. “The sprinklers will go off in like, a minute. They do that every Wednesday.” 

And indeed, the sound of water was just barely audible from below the ground. With haste they escaped the garden just when the sprinklers went off. Though they weren’t completely dry when they ran into the school. Usagi was laughing and for the first time since she moved here, joy was the only emotion she felt. 

Without any hesitation the blonde walked Makoto over to a table filled with other students, apparently classmates of Usagi seeing as she recognized none of them. Some looked up, smiled at the girl and went back to their conversations. A girl with wavy brown hair was watching her curiously but made room to sit as they approached. Usagi almost shoved Makoto into the seat and sat down next to her. 

"Guys, this is Makoto. Makoto, meet my friends. Naru," The wavy brunette smiled and waved. " Umino ," A boy next to Naru with really thick glasses gave a short wave. "Lora, Bran" The two girls across from her smiled at her and then went back to a magazine they were gushing about. "and Ami." The blue haired girl looked up from an English textbook and looked at her, first she looked surprised but then gave her a small smile and a 'Nice to meet you'. Before Makoto had any time to process that look Usagi began to rattle of more names as she pointed at the rest of the people at the table. She had to actually focus and already forgot most of the names before Usagi was finished with telling her them.

In the awkward silence that had fallen after the introduction Makoto got out her lunch box. "Anyone want some dumplings? I made way too many."

The ice was broken after that and conversation flowed freely. Usagi smiled at her and for the first time that day she didn’t feel like an outcast.

Maybe it wasn't such a bad day after all.

.-.-.-.-.-

The door slammed shut and Nephrite only had a second to prepare before Jadeite's body crashed into him as he flung himself onto the couch. He just shifted a bit and turned the page on one of the many experiment-logs his students produced in the time he was... indisposed. Jadeite leaned up against him and did nothing but just breathe. Careful measured breaths that hinted the kind of day the younger man had. 

"Bad day?"

There was no answer for a moment but Nephrite didn't mind. The easy intimacy he had with his friends was something he had desperately missed in this life. It was nice to just know that Jadeite was just gathering his thoughts instead of worrying that he said something wrong.

"Just frustrating."

The answer was accompanied with a sigh that could only come from dealing with his family. Nephrite was glad that his friend had a family that cared about him. His own family didn't even notice him missing until his little niece stumbled onto the forum that housed the broken crystal kidnapping story months after the fact. At least that was what he heard from his colleagues at the research institute. 

"It's just so hard to keep things straight. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you are back with me but explaining to them how you got out has been really difficult."

"I kind of like the 'working with the police to get us out.' Story. Especially when that one cop vouched for you, I didn't expect that at all."

"He owed Moon a favor." 

Nephrite hummed in interest. The Sailor Senshi, now that he could look at them with an objective mind, were such interesting characters. 14 Years old and fighting the Dark kingdom, a very dangerous organization, without any infighting or leadership issues. Though seeing as Moon is an actual Lunarian it shouldn’t surprise him. As he remembered correctly the lunarians had peacefully conquered the entire solar system except for earth in his last life.

"Here's to hoping that Zoi and Kun will be just as easy as you." Jadeite laughed. "It will be a short 'investigation’ then." 

"I wouldn't count on it. They were pretty deeply entrenched with her last I saw them."

"Yeah probably." Jadeite shifted a bit. "I miss them though, while we were in her service everything was so dark and hazy and horrible but being with you and them made it feel... bearable. We may have been harsh but we were together. And it was funny seeing Zoi and Kun dancing around each other."

Nephrite smirked. "They actually got together the night you disappeared." 

Jadeite shot up from his slouched position and looked at him with wide eyes. "Shut up! Really!"

Nephrite nodded. "Yeah, I think Zoisite got fed up with Kunzite's dawdling since he suddenly teleported into the room and just straight up made out with him before teleporting away."

"Nothing straight about that." Jadeite slouched back down. "Ah man, now I have to go back, I have at least 10 different  youma to get money from."

The loud burst of laughter came as a surprise to both of them. Nephrite wasn't one for loud exclamations of emotion. But with his newfound freedom and the fact that he had missed his younger friend so much that it just became so much easier to express them.

"But lost money aside, how was your day?"

"Busy." Nephrite answered as he set the experiment logs aside for the first draft of a thesis. "My interns have been busy in my absence and while I am delighted by their work ethic, catching up has been...  tiring ."

Suddenly a hand plucked the thesis out of his grasp and a cup of tea appeared in his place. Nephrite frowned at the frivolous use of Jadeite's powers but didn't complain as the smell of fresh tea cleared his head a little.

"You should take it easy Neph, I know you are only doing this at home because your colleagues forbade you coming into work so soon after."

Nephrite was tempted to just ask for the thesis back. As his eyes adjusted back to staring at something other than paper though, he realized how tired he actually was. He was still not back to his usual self and the healing Moon had done drained him a lot. 

"I should go rest, you're right. Paperwork can wait." He stated, but before he could decide if he would stay on the couch or move somewhere more comfortable his phone rang.

The groan that came from Jadeite betrayed how young he actually was. "I swear if that is Haruka I'm  gonna ..." 

He picked up the phone before Jadeite could finish that sentence. It wasn't a number he  recognized .

"Hello, Masato speaking."

"Masato, this is Luna."

That made Nephrite  stop for a moment.

"The... cat, right?"

Jadeite's confused voice sounded behind him. "Wait Luna's on the phone? How does she even do that?"

"Yes, the cat, and with difficulty. Now, can we meet somewhere today. I need both of your insights in this new signal that has been bouncing around." The tone of Luna's voice suggested that she already had an idea of what it might be. 

"Yes, that is fine. Can you make it to my house?" After he gave the address, it was silent for a while. Then Luna confirmed she could make it and hung up. 

Nephrite looked at Jadeite. "The cat... Luna is coming here." His face must have given something away because it changed from playful confusion to actual concern.

"Let's hope she brings good news."

.-.-.-.-.-.

Ami watched as Usagi walked with her new friend to the arcade talking a mile per minute as the tall brunet carefully responded to any inquiries Usagi made. To most it would seem completely random but Ami knew Usagi well enough now to see the tactical skimming over topics Makoto didn't seem to like and outright avoiding the topics that made her uncomfortable. 

After that lunch Ami had pulled Usagi aside and asked her what made her approach the girl and the answer surprised her. Although she shouldn’t have been.

_ "I heard some people talking about her and saw her out of the window. What they said didn't line up with how she looked so I went to her." _

Apparently Usagi had a  _ good feeling  _ about the girl. Even though the rumors and whisperings about her history said otherwise. Ami however didn't believe in those sorts of things as she was the victim of that kind of whispering in the past. 

And because she was 85 % sure that this girl was Sailor Jupiter.

There was just this instant recognition. A feeling of  _ I know you _ the moment she laid eyes on the girl. While she had no tangible memories of her past life, she had learned that some gut instinct had transferred over. She had it with some fights, recognizing  youma and their attack patterns, and now she had it here.

She noticed Makoto wince as Usagi stretched out and her otherness flared up around her, bending space a bit. 90% sure.

__ They reached the arcade and Rei was there waiting for them. Her eyes grew wide as she saw Makoto. "There you are, we've been waiting ages for you." Although Usagi reacted as if that comment was meant for them. Ami knew it was aimed at Makoto. 

"Ah, Makoto, meet my friend Rei! She goes to another school."

Rei introduced herself and they made some small talk before Makoto had to go home. They waved goodbye and headed for the temple. On the way  there, Rei turned to them.

"You found Jupiter fast Usagi,  how did you manage that?"

"Wait WHAT?" Came the  screech .

"I knew it." Ami said out loud. Usagi turned to her with betrayed eyes. "You knew too?"

"I suspected  it... Yes."

Instead of continuing the theatrics like she usually would do. Usagi became silent. Her arms crossed and she seemed to shrink into herself a bit. The glow dimming with her frown. It stayed that way until they reached the shrine. Rei was exchanging worried glances with her behind Usagi's back.

"Could we... just let her be?" Came the soft question as they stood before the giant staircase.

"What do you mean Usagi?" Rei asked with a frown.

"I mean, just not awaken her. Leave her as she is now. Not... burden her with this."

They had this conversation countless of times. About what to do when they found more of their former Senshi. How to go about it. They never really had a decisive answer for it, and Usagi was always for not burdening them too much. Like how she treated Rei and her sometimes. Trying to take all the responsibility on herself. 

Usagi had sat down on the steps and seemed to really be torn about this. It was honestly the most still Ami had ever seen her. The Otherness had almost completely stopped with the indecision. 

"We need the help, Usagi." Rei softly stated as she crouched down before the blonde. "We're not strong enough with just the 3 of us."

Ami saw Usagi winding herself up with the same arguments and quickly shot it down. "Being trained by Jay and Neph is not enough Usagi. Not even combined with Luna's  intel ,  youma are getting stronger and we need more firepower." 

"We'll have a chance at a normal life after all this dumpling. The faster we wrap things up the faster we can get to it."

"'m not a dumpling." Usagi mumbled, she didn't seem happy about all of this but at least she was not opposed anymore.

Right at that moment a car pulled up beside them. It was Jay, Nephrite and Luna. The cat had jumped out and with a quick glance around to see if no one was there she spoke.

"Girls, we need to talk. I just had a  breakthrough ."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The moon was completely invisible in the sky as Usagi sat on one of the tall buildings. She had finished her patrol quicker and was now just keeping her ears out for any  youma attacks. Her head was still spinning from all the information that just got dropped.

Rainbow crystals.

7 crystals that together would lead the way to the silver crystal. This powerful magical artifact that will lead them to finding Serenity and unlocking their memories. Apparently, this dark energy signal had been bouncing off the carriers of the Rainbow crystals. Luna picked it up and Nephrite and Jay had confirmed it. Zoisite was active in searching for these crystals and their carriers.  Which were also very powerful  youma . 

Usagi dropped her head onto her knees.

Back to reacting to attacks instead of preventing them. 

And getting their behinds kicked again. 

That led her to think of Jupiter... Makoto again. She knew they needed more help. However she tried to ignore it, the  youma attacks were ramping up again and activity was almost at a point they couldn't handle it with just the 3 of them. They needed help and Makoto was the answer. 

She just didn't want to inflict this duty on anyone else. 

The pain and sleepless nights. The killing and anxiety. Not knowing if every move you make would cause death or life. Usagi hated it; and she knew the others did too. Many nights after patrol they would just talk on the tower. Talking helped. Sometimes it was about light stuff, like their favorite movies or hobbies. Most of the time it was about horrible things they saw while fighting. Trying to come to terms with it. 

They always made it seem so magical in manga, but reality was a hard hit in the face. 

She sighed and pulled out her notebook with patrol schedules. Time to reorganize the patrols again. Maybe she could loan out the moon wand to Rei and Ami. Apparently that thing could sense those crystals too. 

Before her mind could even start with an actual schedule, footsteps sounded behind her. With a flash the wand was out and glowing at the person approaching her. 

Tuxedo mask stepped out of the shadows with his hand up and a small smile on his face. "Easy Moon, it's just me. Please don't blast me all over Tokyo."

"Jeez, you scared me. Don't sneak up like that." She slowly dropped her wand as he took a seat next to her. "What brings you here so late at night?"

"I could ask the same thing of you." He teased back. "Don't you need your beauty sleep?"

"Oh, shut up you. I don't need sleep to be beautiful."

"Yes, because the giant bags under your eyes really enhances the  color ."

"I can still blast you." Usagi laughed. 

Tux was also such a weird figure, always there when she needed backup but never anywhere else. This was the first time she actually seen him outside of battle. He was quite a mystery and maybe it wasn't such a good idea to trust a complete stranger with her life. Only she had this gut feeling that He could be trusted. And if there is one thing she could rely on, it was her gut feeling. Plus, she liked the banter they had. It made her feel like she had another ally in this fight.

"But you didn't answer my question." She said to the masked man. "What are you doing here so late at night with no  youma attacks?"

He shrugged and looked around, as if suspecting a  youma to pop up at any moment. "I have actually no clue, I think I was searching for something."

Usagi looked at Mask in concern. To be completely honest with herself, he looked a bit out of it. Not completely there. 

"What where you searching for?" She asked after a moment.

He just looked at the cloudless sky, seeming lost in thought for a moment. "I think a crystal of some kind. This is going to sound very crazy, but..."

"Mask;" She interrupted him. "Look at me, I'm fighting  youma in a miniskirt with a pink magic wand and I explode on occasion. Nothing you can say will sound crazy to me."

He let out a small chuckle as he looked in her direction. "Fair point, fair maiden." He became silent once more. "I've had this dream, for a while now. There is this woman, I can't really see her face or anything. But she speaks to me. Telling me to find her crystal so she wouldn't burn. After that I would wake up dressed like this and be somewhere completely different. Sometimes just before saving you, mostly just on a building with the urge to find that crystal."

"That sounds... distressing."

"The saving you part isn't that distressing."

" Too bad you don't get to do it that often then."

This time a full-blown laugh burst out of him and Usagi smiled back. Tux seemed a bit more grounded now, and a bit happier also. He didn't refute her statement and they became silent again. Just enjoying each other's company for a while. Usagi was thinking for a bit, could it be that this crystal...

"Hey Tux, this crystal... It doesn't happen to be silver, right?"

The surprised recognition told her enough and she sighed. 

" Yeah, I thought as much."

"You know of it?"

He had turned his full attention onto her again and for a second Usagi was contemplating not telling him. He was still a loose cannon, and someone Luna didn’t trust. 

But...

He had confided in her about his dreams, something that seemed very personal to him. She could tell him this. It wasn’t like she was going to give him her real identity or something.

"We're looking for it too. It's this powerful ancient artifact that is supposed to reveal our princess." At his confused look she quickly explained. "My team and I are reincarnations of this ancient royal guard to this Moon princess. We are trying to find her and defeat the ones sending these youma."

"Ah..."

"That's the summary." She waved his confusion away. "To find the princess we need this crystal. I'm guessing this woman you see is our princess, but why she is contacting you instead of us... I have no clue."

He just shrugged, seemingly not having a clue either.

"So do you have any idea on how to find it?" He asked her.

"Yeah, but it's going to be hard. The Dark Kingdom is also searching for them, and they have a way better tracking devise on them than we have." Usagi groaned, she hated having a disadvantage on the enemy. 

"Them?"

"Yeah, apparently to find the silver crystal, we need 7 rainbow crystals."

"That sounds needlessly complicated."

"Tell me about it, but it's a good protection... sort off."

"I guess." Tux was silent for a moment. "How about we even the playing field then? And both gather those crystals."

Usagi made a confused noise. Both gather the crystals? She thought that working together would be obvious.

"I mean, we would be working together but pretending we weren't. So that this dark kingdom had 2 targets instead of one. You would take a few crystals and I would take the other few. Pretend fight each other for them, all that good stuff."

That... could actually work quite well. Zoisite wouldn't be able to focus on just her if Mask also was a player in that game, Mask was quite good at just appearing out of nowhere. And if Zoisite got his hands on one of their crystals they still had the other ones.

"That sounds like a good plan, one question though. Should we tell the others about this?"

Mask thought about it for a moment and then shook his head. "The more people know about it, the easier it could be overheard."

Usagi frowned, he made a good point. She didn't like keeping secrets from her friends but the chance they could be overheard was also bigger. It wasn't like they trusted Tux anyway.

"Okay, let's do it, but don't expect me to go easy on you."

"I won't, and I'll even let you win once in a while."

For that comment she kicked him, but he just laughed at her. Asshole.

They talked for a while more. She gave him some of the intel they had gathered and told him about the plans to free the  Shitennou from the dark kingdom. He told her more about the dreams he had and the memory blanks he gets when he  detransforms . Not remembering until he is Tuxedo mask again. 

For a while Usagi forgot her problems and worries, and had actually some hope that things would be alright.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Makoto was confused.

She finally had friends! After so many years without any good friends it really felt nice to have them again. 

But they were really weird.

Well not all of them; Naru was pretty normal. She was sweet and soft-spoken and almost the complete opposite of Makoto herself. And  Umino was a nerd, but in the best way.

No, she was thinking of Ami, Rei and Usagi.

She really liked them and they were so nice and friendly but... She glanced at them where they had sat down in the arcade as she got the drinks from the friendly Arcade bartender. They had invited her for a drink after school. 

She couldn't really explain it.

It started the first time she met  Rei; she had exclaimed something about waiting forever for them. Usagi seemed to take it like it was directed at Usagi herself, but she knew it had been directed at her. Rei had looked her right in the eye when she said it. 

Now it could have been nothing and she interpreted it completely wrong, if not for the calculating looks Ami had been giving her. As if she was trying to confirm something and searching for that last piece. It made her feel like she was some kind of specimen in a  Petri dish . 

After that weird introduction they behaved completely normal, and Usagi's bright personality eased any lingering awkwardness. She really had a lot of fun and the days after that she got assimilated into their little group pretty fast. 

She really didn't mind the fast progression, although it was a bit strange, they just clicked. 

She liked hanging out with them, that is why she felt so confused and a bit hurt when it became clear that they were holding something back. There was this looming thing hanging over them that was pressing them down. Even Usagi, bright cheerful Usagi, seemed down about something. But they wouldn't say a word about it.

She wondered why she felt so betrayed by them holding something back. They only knew each other for a week now and she wouldn't share her whole life history with someone after just a week of knowing them. But something inside her just felt that way.

She looked their way again and saw Rei looking back at her, the black-haired girl smiled as they made eye contact. Seeming to want to reassure her. She still wasn't convinced the girl wasn't  psychic or anything. 

Motoki, the cute bartender, brought her attention back to the present as he gave her the 4 milkshakes she ordered. She walked back with them and had to stop for a second as her mind played tricks on her again. 

As flowers had seemed to have sprouted where Usagi's eyes once were. Bright blue and blooming out until she blinked and they were gone again. 

That was the other thing. After that first meeting with Usagi she kept having these visions. Like nature was taking over the girl and it gave her headaches. She thought she was only seeing things at first but as they kept happening. 

_ Maybe that was the thing they were hiding _ . 

She shook her head and made her way back. No, that was just crazy conspiracy thoughts. She set the milkshakes down and smiled at Usagi's cheering. Taking a seat next to them again. Conversation once again flowed freely as they spoke about what they were planning that weekend. 

After the milkshakes they went into the arcade portion of the building and Usagi dragged Ami off to a racing game she wanted to try. Leaving her with Rei. Who just rolled her eyes at the blonde before turning to  Makoto. "Are you any good at shoot them ups?"

"A bit.” Makoto replied hesitatingly. "Never played that much."

There was that soul-searching look  again. It only lasted a moment before Rei grinned somewhat evilly before leading her to one of the cabinets. "Excellent, you can help me crush this high score."

So weird.

They did crush the high score. Combining her style of large area effects and Rei's frankly amazing sniping skills got them very far in that game. Rei cackled as she replaced the top person's name with a combo of their names. She explained that the top person was this really obnoxious girl in her class who wouldn't shut up about their 'Pro gamer skills.' 

Rei was  apparently very competitive when it came to people she disliked. 

"Wow, you two girls are pretty good at gaming." Came a low voice from the side. There stood a reasonably handsome boy. He introduced himself as Joe and made himself out to be the master of crane games. Makoto was kind of interested, it helped that Joe was kind of charismatic and reminded her of an ex. Rei just made an annoyed sound but followed them. The truth came out when the guy used  _ telekinesis  _ of all things to get the plush out of the crane game.

"That just looks like cheating to me." Rei commented and Makoto found it hard to refute that. Though the blasé way she spoke was strange. That was  _ Telekinesis!  _ Of all things.

"It's not cheating if you're the only one that can do it." Came the cocky response. 

Before this argument could be continued Makoto felt a faint rumbling in the earth. Not even thinking about it she shoved Rei to the side as suddenly the Arcade exploded in a shower of glass and rubble. A heavy machine fell on her and pinned her arm against the ground. She tried to move but the machine had some rubble on it and it had pinned her down good. Other patrons seemed to flee and most of the ones that were trapped like her were knocked out.

She hoped they were only knocked out.

It seemed Joe was unharmed but scared as suddenly this guy with long blonde hair stood before him.

She looked around and couldn't see Usagi and Ami anywhere, but Rei was luckily safe behind some fallen debris. Though trying to get back over to their side. She tried to mime to Rei to run away but the girl just glared at her, as if offended that she even suggested running away. Seemingly grabbing something out of her pocket.

Her attention was brought back to the two persons in front of her as Joe had started begging to the long-haired dude. 

"Please don't take my energy, I have so much to live for." He looked around desperately and his eyes locked with hers. "Take  hers instead!" 

Wow, what an asshole. 

She saw the dude's eyes flick to her, but focus back on Joe after a few seconds. "Tempting offer, but unfortunately for you my dear, energy is not the thing I'm after right now."

He took out a weird crystal and with a halfhearted wave it began to glow. Which in turn made Joe glow. He started screaming and a hole seemed to open up in his chest. Revealing a red crystal. The dude reached out and tried to grab it.

Only to be met by a roundhouse kick from... Was that Rei?!

It almost couldn't be. Rei hadn't been wearing a short miniskirt and high heels before. 

Makoto spared a glance at where Rei was earlier, and she wasn't there. The woman snatched the crystal from where it was floating. Makoto finally got a good look at her and recognized her as one of the Senshi that had been featured on the news. Mars they called her. 

Why did she look so much like Rei?

That is when the other two arrived and holy... 

They were the Senshi.

_ They were the Senshi _ .

Her head was spinning with the revelation and she seemed to have missed a few moments because suddenly this weird game machine looking monster was smacking the Senshi around while the blonde dude (Zoi-something) was trying to get the crystal back. 

Mercury... Ami? Screamed as she was punched into a wall. The cracking sound her back made when she hit the wall had Makoto freezing. That was a horrible familiar sound, a sound she had never wanted to hear again. Then the  youma was advancing on Usagi... Moon, who seemed conflicted and had her wand (Wand?!?) out but didn't seem to want to use it. 

Mars seemed busy fending off Zoi-whatever and Mercury was out. Usagi was alone. Someone had to do something.

_ She had to do something! _

She wrenched her free arm under the machine and with a great yell and some adrenaline that had just kicked in she shoved the damned thing off her arm. She stood up and tackled the  youma right as it was preparing to hit Moon. They slammed into the ground and vaguely she heard Usagi shouting her name. She drove a fist right into the thing's face. "Leave her alone, you Monster!" 

As she prepared to punch it again the monster shoved her hard. She skidded across the floor but managed to land on her feet. The thing stood up to its full height. It was a good head taller than her. 

"Not so though now, are you." Its voice sounded like Joe but mechanical. She steeled herself and put her arms up, ready to punch him again. She was scared but she wouldn't let it hurt her friends. 

"Try me."

Before any of them could move a cat appeared in the broken window and yelled something which she didn't catch because TALKING CAT?! And then threw something to her. Out of instinct she caught it. 

It was a fancy pen. Gold and green with a weird 4 symbol on the pen cap. What was she supposed to do  with...?

Then it began to spark and time slowed down. Electricity seemed to surround her and before she knew it, she was in a miniskirt herself. 

The pen had disappeared and she stared at 2 white gloved hands; they were sparking with energy. 

_ Oh _

That explains it.

She looked back at the monster who was now looking at her in confusion. She grinned at it. 

The rest of the fight seemed to blur a bit. She might have used a magical attack at one point and Usagi blasted it back to its human form with her pink wand after the cat shouted something at her. Before she knew  it, she was pulled away by the three of them up a building and out of sight. 

Now the battle was over things began to sink in for her a bit. She looked at the 3 Senshi in front of her. Did they really only befriend her because of...

"I am so _so_ sorry." Usagi seemed heartbroken. Rei and Ami just looked solemnly at her. "If you want to walk away, you still can."

That  apparently surprised the other two and the cat. She was giving her a choice? That was possible?

She looked down at her glove covered hands again. No, there wasn't. But she had to be sure.

"You'll still be friends with me if I don't do this?"

"Off course!" The answer was immediate and surprised from all three of them. As if for the girls not being friends with her wasn’t even an option.

She nodded, satisfied. "I guess this makes me a Sailor Senshi then. Didn't expect that when moving here."

"Sailor Jupiter to be exact. Thank you." The black cat said to her. "Welcome to the team."

"Glad to be here." 

And she really was. 


End file.
